Eternity
by 51readaholic15
Summary: Femslash, Alice/Bella. Bella is an ancient vampire in hiding. Alice is a 'vegetarian' vampire attending high school in Forks with the rest of her family. The two vampire's worlds collide with results neither ever anticipated...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One **

_Vampires. _

Vampires in _Forks_.

Vampires in Forks _High School_.

'_What are vampires doing in High School?'_ But then, I'm in High School, so it shouldn't have been surprising to me. Only, it was, and there were several vampires.

A coven.

A coven of vampires in Forks High School.

I had come to Forks in an attempt to settle for a year or so and to _avoid_ vampires. Yet there is an entire coven of them here.

I sighed; this was going to be a problem... 'unless they didn't know I was a vampire.'

Unless they didn't know I was here at all... was I that lucky? Was I _that_ lucky, to have avoided their notice? It seemed possible; I hadn't hunted yet so there wouldn't be any unexplained dead bodies or missing humans and I always had my shield active, so they wouldn't have smelt nor seen me.

This could work.

I wanted to avoid a certain vampire and what better way to do that than to hide in plain sight? _He_ certainly wouldn't expect me to settle, let allow where there already was a coven of vampires. _He_ would figure that if I was hiding or running from him, I would avoid from any supernatural being – vampires especially.

I was still sitting in my truck, where I had parked it in the Forks High parking lot and had come across the faint scent of the vampires. They hadn't arrived yet, as I couldn't detect them with my keen sense of smell.

Keener than that of a younger vampire.

I checked my eyes in the rear-view mirror and they were black, I was thirsty but if I did hunt there would be no way to explain the crimson red irises.

Black would be a more believable human eye colour than red. I would have to manipulate my scent, make it less 'vampirish'. Vampires identify each other by their unique scent, which is the product of the lack of flowing blood and the presence of multiple scented bloods.

Since vampires consume blood, and blood in itself has a scent that calls to all vampires, the combination of several specimens' blood in one body creates a unique scent.

An illusionary heartbeat and temperature would also be necessary and for added effects perhaps a strong blush would further deter this coven.

Actually... it could be possible for me to not need to change my scent; instead it could be played off as an incredibly alluring blood.

The lack of a heartbeat is the key to telling vampire from human. While each vampires scent is unique, and differing ever so slightly from humans, it is the lack of a beating heart that identifies a vampire.

But having a heartbeat... well, then my natural scent would be enough.

Hunting would become a challenge as I couldn't risk killing any locals, since the increase of missing persons would coincide with my appearance. It would be too suspicious for the resident vampires to not investigate.

And all it would take would be a short history check into Phoenix's high school, the one I'll be telling this school I transferred from, to discover that in actual fact one Isabella Swan never attended there.

I had a human contact forge some appropriate documents for my transferral, but it wouldn't take a genius to dig through the files and discover, prior to 1995, Isabella Swan never existed.

...

Sighing I stepped out of the truck and made my way to the main office to sign in. This might be a long day considering it was my first day and I was unfamiliar with the workings of a humans 'high school.'

My inhuman beauty was going to be an issue, but I was confident that my heartbeat and red tinted skin would throw off any suspicions.

A vicious wind blew as I walked through the lot towards the main office and I shivered theoretically, mimicking the actions of the humans around me. I noticed a flush on their cheeks and I fixed my illusion to create one for myself.

The theory behind my shield was it messed with the minds surrounding me. I didn't physically have any attributes of a human, such as a beating heart, or flush to my skin, but my power targeted the minds of humans and vampires alike and created a false image in their heads. This could also be used to completely cloak myself from all senses, so I was invisible. Undetectable by sight, smell, sound or touch. Couldn't be sure about the whole taste part, but I imagine that would work like all the other senses, rendered useless by my shield.

But another attribute was it rendered the abilities of others useless as well. I thought of my ability as two parts, two shields.

One that affected the senses and the other that affected others' abilities. The one that... 'blocked' others ability was like the first layer, the primary line of defence. Something that was continuously, and subconsciously, active.

The outer layer, or the part that allowed me to extend and use to manipulate the senses, was under my complete control, but required that I be consciously concentrating on it. If I allowed myself to be too heavily distracted, my thoughts and attentions too solely focussed, the 'illusion' would drop and I would lose control over the senses of those surrounding me.

...

The day progressed predictably, human's flocked around me, asking the same questions, making the same remarks about my pale skin and being from Phoenix.

One boy, Mike I believe was his name, was awfully persistent in his presence; behaving like a love sick puppy by following me about everywhere I went. I gave him no inclination that I was interested but he persisted and I was tempted to dispatch him; however, that would have ruined my facade in the first day so I suffered his presence in silence.

...

It wasn't until lunch that I actually saw the coven that resided in Forks. I was seated with some humans I had met through the day, talking with a girl whom I surprisingly liked, Angela. A tall, shy and very pleasant, polite and kind girl.

We had been talking about an English assignment we had been given when I smelt them. Of course I had smelt them all day, but this was fresh and strong. I instinctively looked up at the sound of footsteps and turned to see them walk through the door.

There were four.

The first to enter was tall, statuesque, and blonde, beautiful beyond words but with a nearly hostile look on her face. Undoubtedly the most beautiful vampire I had ever seen in all my years, and she had a demeanour of superiority and self-awareness of her exquisite beauty. Holding her hand was a beast of a vampire, no doubt the strongest of them. He was of gigantic size; I estimated 6'5", a burly muscular build with short curly dark brown hair and his round face and dimples giving him a childish appearance. Behind him was a male with a curious, unique bronze coloured hair. His facial features were attractive, angular and defined; however, his expression marred his looks. It was contorted into one of permanent annoyance, but with a hint of arrogance and supremacy, all knowing. Last was a small, petite girl; so short I nearly missed her as she danced along with the two boys. She was no more than 4'8" with pitch black hair, short and disarrayed, with spikes poking out in every direction.

They were all, classically, inhumanely beautiful, graceful and self-composed as they made their way to an empty table at the far end of the cafeteria. But they had golden eyes, an eye colour I had never seen before and it intrigued me. If it wasn't for their scent and lack of heartbeat I would have doubted they were vampires at all.

"I see the Cullen's have caught you're attention." Angela was smirking at me and I raised an eyebrow in question.

"The Cullen's?"

"Yeah, they moved here about a year ago with Dr. Cullen and his wife. They're adopted; Rosalie is Mrs Cullen's niece. Emmett, the big body-builder type and Edward are siblings, orphans and I'm not sure what Alice's story is, but she's been adopted in as well. Rosalie and Emmett are a couple and naturally it's caused quite the scandal, since they live together and are _together_. But it's not as if they're actually siblings so I guess that's okay."

I smiled at her; she was kind and accepting, far more open-minded about this than most humans from a small town would be.

"So is the new human scared of the big, bad Cullen's yet?" I heard a booming voice carry over the crowded cafeteria. It wasn't really booming in volume, since the owner to it was merely whispering, but it was the type of voice that would usually boom. In fact it boomed even when he whispered; if that made any sense.

I looked up at them in reflex to hearing my name, or my being mentioned. They weren't looking at me or each other, but were clearly having a conversation. I couldn't actually be sure who had spoken, but I guessed it was Emmett, the big one. Edward shook his head and turned his head to glare at me. I very nearly laughed at him, his face contorted with frustration, confusion and outrage, but I instead 'blushed' and ducked my head in 'embarrassment'.

"What's the matter Edward?" A silvery bell-like voice spoke and I looked up again to see the smallest vampire watching Edward. He was still staring at me but as I met his eyes he looked away.

"I can't read her." he answered, his deep velvety voice laced and tangled with irritation and disbelief.

I smiled inwardly; establishing right then that this particular vampire was a telepath and was obviously discovering for the first time that his ability was blocked.

He wasn't the first telepath I'd ever met. While the last telepath had been more of an aggressive nature.

"Who?" Alice asked and looked at me, "The new girl?"

He nodded as I continued watching the table.

"Yes. Bella."

Alice gave me a quizzical look and I kept my expression passive, disinterested before turning my attention back to the humans at my table.

In accordance with my schedule I had Art next period and so as the bell rang I said 'goodbye' to Angela and made my way to the class after a brief glance at my map, purely for appearances sack of course.

Jessica, one of the girls I had met today and whom had a dislike for something I could only deem to be in relation to Mike, walked with me and apparently shared the class.

Thankfully, though, she already had a partner at her table and I was able to sit on my own. Until, that is, one Alice Cullen strides into the room with the grace and confidence only an immortal could possess. She barely hesitated as she spotted the empty chair beside me and made her way over.

I watched her from my peripheral vision so I faked surprise when she stopped beside my table.

"May I sit here?" She asks softly, as to not scare the human.

I nod quickly and hastily (for a human) removed my bag and books from her side of the table.

I saw the moment she smelt me and my delicious scent. Her breathing cut off and her small frame froze as she braced herself. I watched the topaz darken, reinforcing the fact that she was indeed a vampire, and become engulfed by black as her thirst made itself known. I had expected this, but was surprised when she relaxed, continued breathing and smiled widely at me after a short pause. I was thoroughly impressed by her control as I returned a small smile, and for fun increased the tempo of my heartbeat, plus a little blush on my cheeks. Her eyes darkened finitely before returning to that fascinating and odd bright gold. She reached forwards a small, delicate looking hand.

"Hi, I'm Alice Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you." Her smile was entrancing and I could see the dazzling she was attempting to do. It was clever and she was talented, but I remained unaffected. I accepted her offered hand and squeezed it, though I doubt she would have felt it at all.

"Bella Swan."

"Bella, it's not short for Isabella by any chance?"

"That it is, but Isabella sounds too old for me." I answered nodding slowly and gave a wry smile.

"I disagree; I think it suits you perfectly."

I blushed at that, unable to resist seeing the darkening of her eyes. It gave me a strange sense of power, that I had a degree of control over her. The vampire side, the side ruled by the instinctual need for blood. They did indeed darken and her breathing stopped momentarily, only restarting once my 'blush' faded.

Oh, this was just too much fun.

"I'm going to go with the clichéd path here and ask how you are finding Forks so far."

I laughed lightly at that, indeed it was rather clichéd by now. It was the standard question for me, but I didn't mind her asking for an inexplicable reason. I laughed lightly again, "That is indeed well and truly a clichéd question by now. I actually like it here; I mean, it's no Phoenix, but I came here for something different and you can't get more different from Phoenix than in Forks."

She laughed, like bells chiming in a melody no mortal could produce on the finest of instruments.

"Yes I can imagine that Forks is quite the contrast to Phoenix, in just about every way. So, if you don't mind my asking, what brings you out here to small town Forks?"

I had known this question would come eventually so I had spent some hours fabricating papers to back up the story that I would be using.

"Uh, well my mum... passed away recently and so I decided to come here to Forks, where my father... used to live." I took long, deliberate pauses and constructed the short sentence carefully, so as to appear grief-stricken but moving on.

Her expression softened and she touched my hand in a gentle, tender and compassionate manner of sorrow for my loss and pain.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Bella."

I shook my head slowly, smiling sadly.

"How could you have known?"

Her expression was unreadable for a brief moment before she nodded and turned to answer the teacher.

We were required to work in silence after that so no more words were exchanged between us, but I found her company agreeable nonetheless and when the bell rang, dismissing us from class, she stood and gave me a cheerful smile.

"I do hope you enjoy the last period of your first day and I will see you tomorrow."

I returned the farewell and we parted ways at the doorway. I had Biology and when I walked in the scent of another Cullen assaulted my nostrils. Looking up I saw Edward Cullen, typically sitting in the last available seat in the classroom, and watched his reaction to my intoxicating scent. It was far less composed as Alice's. His entire body went rigid and as I passed he shot me a look so menacing, had I been human I may have run from the room. As it was I raised a mocking eyebrow and ignored it.

As I sat down beside him his posture changed and he leaned away from me, futilely trying to get his nose as far from me as physical possible... without detaching it from his face. I contained my smile, silently laughing at his dramatics. The boy obviously had never smelt such appetising blood before and didn't know how to handle it. That added to his inability to read my thoughts placed him in a predicament he undoubtedly had never experienced before; and he wasn't dealing with it very well.

I blushed again and in response heard the table crack; he was squeezing it so hard it was giving way. I very nearly laughed, so I covered it up by ducking my head and shifting my hair so it fell like a curtain between us, blocking his vision from my expression.

Biology moved slower than any of my other classes as we sat in silence, listening to Mr. Banner lecture us.

When the bell rang, he moved at a speed faster than a human and was out the door before I had really moved. Sighing, I packed my bag and heard Mike approach.

"Did you stab Cullen with a pencil or something?"

"No. But obviously he's more snobbish than I'd been told."

He laughed and moved to swing his arm over my shoulder, but I nimbly ducked under it. I didn't want him getting any ideas that it was appropriate for him to touch me.

Swinging my bag over my shoulder I left the classroom with him trailing behind; his pride hurt at my wordless rejection.

"See you tomorrow Bella!" He called as he departed and I made my way to the main office to return the slip I had had each teacher sign.

I smelt, and heard, him before I neared the building and slowed down to listen in.

"Mrs Cope?" His velvety voice spoke softly. I snorted silently; the fool was charming the poor human. I felt pity for the unsuspecting woman.

"Oh," She gasped, flustered. I could almost see him leaning forwards, flashing those pearly whites and fluttering his ridiculously long lashes.

"I was wondering if I could move from my biology class to a senior level science? Physics, perhaps?"

At his words I snorted again, and received a strange look from a passing human. Over-dramatic much? The boy must have less self-control than I had credited him with.

"Is there a problem with Mr. Banner, Edward?"

"Not at all, it's just that I've already studied this material..." He replied and I could hear the slight frustration. He desperately wanted out.

"In that accelerated school you all went to in Alaska, right."

''_accelerated school' indeed'_ I laughed.

"Actually, Edward, Physics is pretty much full right now. Mr. Banner hates to have more than twenty-five students in a class–"

His impatience got the best of him as he cut her off, "I wouldn't be any trouble."

"I know that, Edward. But there just aren't enough seats as it is..."

"Could I drop the class then? I could use the period for independent study."

"Drop Biology?" Her disbelief was obvious, "you won't have enough credits to graduate."

As if graduating mattered to him. I was at the door by then and pushed it open. As I had expected he was leaning over the desk, concentrating on the secretary so much he failed to acknowledge my presence as he leaned ever closer and her heart pumped faster.

"I'll catch up next year."

"Maybe you should talk to your parents about that."

I saw the slight clench of his jaw and I leant against the wall, thoroughly entertained by his attempts at persuasion.

"Please, Mrs Cope?" his voice was as smooth and compelling as he could get it. I wondered how it would work on me. If it would at all... "Isn't there some other section I could switch to? I'm sure there has to be an open slot somewhere? Sixth hour biology can't be there only option..."

I was barely containing myself by now. He was basically begging to be removed from me. I was oddly flattered; my 'blood' or scent was so intoxicating for him that he was pleading with a mortal, threatening the chance of more rumours about ' those Cullen's', to e removed from the temptation that I was.

In that second the door opened as a girl slipped into the room, placed a signed tardy slip in the basket by me and escaped.

His posture went stiff. Every muscle tensed as he slowly turned to give me a ferocious glare that normally would have scared me out of my wits. I glared back; with the intensity of a disgruntled and confused human. His black onyx eyes connected with mine for an entire second before he turned back, hastily dismissed the now frightened and confused secretary and glided out of the room; careful not to touch me. I watched him go before smiling warmly at the human and giving her my slip wordlessly.

I walked out to the parking lot and heard a brief conversation between the resident vampires before a shiny, silver Volvo peeled out of the lot, hitting at least forty before it was on the road.

I was the last left in the lot so I let loose the laughter that had been building for the past two hours.

My ancient red Chevy had absolutely no power and it drove me insane to drive it but it had been the only available car in this tiny towns automotive car lot and it wasn't as though I could turn up to school each day without a car and not get questioned for it.

Finally I pulled into my driveway and quickly rushed into my home. It had a large accumulation of dust and spiders so I spent most of the evening cleaning every inch of the place. This weekend I would have to go to Seattle and refurbish my home, it looked empty and lifeless at the moment. In the mean time, I would do some research on these Cullen's and perhaps study up on the material I will be 'learning' this year.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I didn't notice the rising sun until it was nearly seven. It was overcast, as per usual, and I remembered I'd need to get changed and shower. Due to the dust that clung to me.

Mike followed me about, sitting beside me in English and fighting for my attention with a tall boy with bad complexion. Eric was his name. Their bickering was irritating and I was thankfully saved by Angela, who laughed at my expression and when I grabbed her hand and dragged her away. She gave me a knowing look, smirking cheekily and laughed when I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

The day progressed as per expected and as I walked into Art I saw Alice waiting for me. She looked up as I entered and beamed, ridiculously enthusiastic to see me. I gave her a small smile and wave as I moved towards her.

"Hey," she greeted, and I smiled again.

"Hello."

"So how did your first day go?" She asked, that same shining smile pulling at her lips.

"Um, as I had expected. Everyone in this town obviously loves anything new, me being no exception. But everyone is also ridiculously nice, well almost everyone." I added on as Edward's behaviour sprung to mind. Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Almost? Who dares to be rude to the new student? That's against Forks policy!" She joked, giggling quietly.

"I suppose your brother dares. He sure wasn't joining in on the welcoming committee."

Thin eyebrows rose in response, "Hmm, well Edward has always been... a little drama queenish." She said, voice hinting at her own amusement at his theatrics.

"I don't smell that bad, do I?"

Her brows furrowed. That was one thing I noticed about Alice, she was very expressive, all her emotions played out across her face, making her easy to read. Leaning forwards slightly she took a daring whiff of my scent, closing her eyes in pleasure.

"No, on the contrary you smell... delicious."

I blinked rapidly, thinking this was the appropriate reaction to being told I smelt almost edible.

"Delicious? As in you want to what? Eat me?" I joked nervously and Alice blanched, horrified she had slipped.

"Oh, no! I mean you just smell really good. Defiantly not bad! Totally used the wrong word there! I mean, not like I'd want to _eat_ you or anything. That's a little cannibalistic if you ask me, I defiantly wouldn't want to eat you..." She trailed off from her babbling and I again had to contain my laughter.

"So now you're saying I'm not good enough to eat?" I mocked and I swear she would have blushed had it been physically possible, as it was she looked like she wanted to crawl under a rock for a few years.

"No! I mean, shot!" She was completely flustered, incapable of actually saying anything coherent and I decided to save her by snorting, very unlady and unvampire-like, and drawing the scorn of our teacher who had begun speaking to the class. We listened to the teacher's instructions before beginning the work, conversation became light after that and we spent time joking and laughing.

The days morphed together and soon my first week had passed, with no return from Edward. I found it thoroughly amusing to begin with, but now it was leaning towards being pathetic. I knew my scent was not, in actual fact, that potent, and so it just showed his extreme lack of control. Alice had no problems and so I couldn't see why he would... my guess would be he has a thing for the dramatics.

As it was, I was developing a rather close friendship with Alice. And as much as I wanted to avoid creating any bonds with these vampires there was simply something about her I couldn't resist. Something that drew me in, causing me to spend more time with her; during school hours that is. I had promised myself that I wouldn't see her outside of school; because I did that then my relationship with her wouldn't deepen more than acquainted friends. Or so I tried to convince myself.

So, I then found myself asking myself why on Earth, when so many things could go wrong, I had agreed to go shopping with her this weekend. Why? Because I've also recently discovered I can't so 'no' to the pixie vampire; plus she seems to know it, and works it to her advantage.

We drove in her yellow Porsche, since we'd both agreed driving my truck would just drive us both crazy, and I actually suspected the poor, old beast just wouldn't have made it to Seattle.

In fact, it had been my off-hand comment about the unreliability of the truck that had gotten me into this situation. I had told her I needed new furniture for my home, since I was eating off the kitchen bench, sleeping on a mattress on the floor and doing my homework on the floor. I joked about my truck dying half-way thus leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere. She perked up and exclaimed excitedly that not only did she love to shop, but she knew all the best places to shop and could take me in her car.

I tried getting out of it, saying pitiful things like, 'I wouldn't want to take the time out of your day...', 'It's not a big drama for me to go on my own...', even, 'It's a sunny day in Seattle, won't you want to spend it with your family, camping trip of whatever...'

That one she waved off, stating with irrefutable confidence it would rain, so I tried saying isn't that pretty miserable weather to shop in? To which she scoffed, "We'll be in a mall. Which, if you didn't know, is indoors and thus we'll be protected from getting wet."

And it was there I found out I couldn't say a flat out 'no'. She bounced and clapped in childish excitement and I mentally kicked myself. I had made a promise, a commitment to not getting attached, and most certainly not seeing her outside of school; and here I was agreeing to spend the day with her... which will result in several uncomfortable situations.

"Ever had a boyfriend?" She asked randomly as we flew through the countryside.

"Uh," I wasn't sure how to answer that, so I stuck with the truth, "No."

She was surprised by that, "Why not?"

Shrugging I replied casually, "Never had the time or inclination. What about you?"

"No, not really. And, before you ask, basically for the same reasons."

I nodded and looked out the window, finding that piece of information intriguing and I wondered how old she was, how long she'd been a vampire for.

"Tell me about yourself." She looked over at me, studying me in a way I hadn't been studied before; usually the only ones to look at me for long periods of time was to do so in distain and anger or curiosity and fascination, but always wary. Even with other vampires they were cautious when they met me, if they had the chance to meet me, I wasn't entirely sure but I guessed it was because I gave an air of power, my ability allowing me to undermine that of others. The way Alice studied me now made me uncomfortable and so I shifted in my seat.

"What do you want to know?"

"How old are you?"

That was actually a question I couldn't answer honestly. I didn't know what age I had been when I had been turned.

"18." It seemed wisest to go with the legal age of adulthood, enabling me to be allowed to live alone, as I was doing. Plus I needed to have an appropriate age for the year I was in, being a junior and 18 I could say I was held back a year or was amongst the older students of the year.

"You don't seem 18." She quipped and I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, neither do you."

She smirked and poked her tongue out at me in a childish manner, "Well I am."

Conversation flowed easily on and off and the topics varied. I found it easy talking with her, far easier than I would have first thought. It was most likely due to her bubbly and hyperactive personality; she seemed to always see the glass half full, as they say.

We pulled into a parking lot of a large mall and Alice was back to bouncing.

"Come on, come on!" She chorused and grabbed my hand, rushing us into the mall.

"You certainly do love to shop, don't you?" I asked as I allowed her to tow me into yet another store. So far we had purchased twice as many clothes that could fit in my wardrobe and no furniture.

"Say, Alice, when are we going to buy some actual furniture?"

"Furniture?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes, you know the stuff you decorate your home with and also it's very useful for things like sleeping, sitting, putting food on... any of those things ring a bell?"

"Ooh, right."

"That was the entire point of this trip, Alice. To get me some furniture."

"Yeah, I know that. But where are we going to put it?" She looked as though a brilliant idea struck her, "We'll have to come back tomorrow and I'll ask to borrow my brother, Emmett's, truck!"

I gave her a look, "No. I'll order it and have it delivered to my house. That was what I'd been planning to do anyway."

She pouted in disappointment, "But I don't know anything about interior designing... however, my mum does! So we could bring her along too!"

Holding up a hand to stop her I shook my head, "I'm not making an extra trip in when we're already here. Besides, I'm perfectly capable of picking out stuff myself. Especially considering I know my house and your mother does not."

"So? Invite her to your place and have her check it out. No drama and, besides, Esme loves this kind of thing."

I finally found out how to say 'no'. "No, and that's final."

She pouted further but I held strong and eventually she gave up.

"Fine. But you're no fun."

I shrugged, "Never did say I was."

We began looking for furnishings and some art work for making my home seem more... lived in.

"You have a thing for antiques? I never would have guessed." She noted at one point and I looked at her.

"Yes, I do. I find the older stuff... more comforting. All this modern stuff is not my style at all."

She nodded seriously and with understanding.

...

It was dark by the time she pulled into my driveway.

"Thanks for taking me. I had a lovely day." I spoke politely and smiled. She had given me a hand with my bags to my front porch but I refused to open the door. Thankfully she heeded my hint and smiled, gave me a swift hug and waved goodnight.

Once she was out of eyesight, and I could hear nothing I moved fast. And by fast I mean a vampire wouldn't have seen half of my movements to get the ridiculous number of bags and clothes packed away.

It was done in less than five minutes.

"Shot," I had passed the mirror and noticed my eyes. They had faded to a dull grey colour, indicating I was low on energy, if I waited any longer to hunt I may end up losing control over my shield/illusions. I seriously hoped Alice hadn't noticed, or at least not thought strangely of it.

It was foolish to have left hunting so late and with all the time I spent with her, there was no way her vampiric vision wouldn't pick up on the not-so-subtle change of colour.

I continued chastising myself as I ran from the house in search of a close and convenient kill. Now actually seemed like the perfect opportunity to find out what made the Cullen's eyes so different. What made them yellow?

I needed to know what made them different from every other vampire I had ever come across.

Cloaking entirely, becoming invisible from all senses, I dashed into the woods behind my house searching for a scent for me to track. It didn't take long to find one and so I began tracking it.

The trail led me to an opening of grass with a soft, faded white, three story, and rectangular mansion of a house. I stayed in the shadows of the trees watching and listening for activity in the house. I could confirm there were at least five persons in there, each in different rooms.

I approached it with unnecessary caution and differentiated the softest and lightest of the footsteps to be from the far end of the home.

_Alice._

I circled round and saw her on the third story through the window. She appeared to be pacing in circles, anxious about something. Curiosity compelled me to get closer, so I leapt up grabbing a hold of the open window frame and silently slipping in.

As my feet touched the floor of her room she suddenly stopped and looked directly at me. I froze on instinct as her eyes appeared to focus on me. _Impossible, _I thought as she continued to stare at me with a look I couldn't decipher. Experimenting, I moved to the right and was relieved to see her eyes failed to follow my movement. As sudden as she had stopped, she began pacing again her hand reached up and she chewed on the nail of her thumb.

A habit I hadn't known she had.

I studied her room with vague interest, paying little attention to the pictures and paintings on the wall but instinctively checking for anything that could be a threat. Of course my nose had already told me she was alone in here, but I couldn't help the instincts for self-preservation, no matter where I was I scanned the perimeter. Even in my own home, actually, especially in my own home. Not that I had a _home_ per say, but it was the place I spent my time when I wasn't at school.

Alice continued pacing around her room until eventually she huffed and hopped onto her bed, bouncing slightly and lying back to stare at her ceiling.

I noticed her door was closed and I gritted my teeth in annoyance, I couldn't very well escape her room without her noticing the door opening on its own accord. With no other way to get around the rest of the house I stole out her window again and ran, trying to decide where to hunt.

I would need to hunt outside of Forks, to avoid any suspicion from the local vampires, so I ran back to Seattle and kept my cloak up, not wanting to bother with any of my usual methods of hunting. Like luring my prey into alleyways by fluttering my eyelashes the right way, or whispering a few suggestive things into their ears. This manner of hunting was only ever for games, or getting the particularly scummy men of the world, the ones who preyed on other defenceless human women. Although today had been a failure to discover anything of relevance about these vampires and their curious eyes, but at least I knew where they lived now and exactly how many members were in their coven, and tonight I would feed. One human would do tonight, since I didn't really want my eyes to change back to red, instead simply 'charging' my power up.

I was stalking a dark alleyway when the irresistible scent captured my senses and I homed in on the unknowing and helpless victim. He was dirty, most likely homeless and therefore wouldn't be missed, lying on top of some filthy cardboard boxes. His hair was ruffled, greasy and caked with filth. My nose scrunched up as his bodily scents assaulted my nose, offending me and nearly covering the underlying smell of his fresh, flowing blood. I let instincts take over as I swooped down, breaking his neck in one fluid motion and neatly sunk my teeth into the carotid artery. My eyes rolled back in pleasure as his still warm blood flooded my mouth and I drank greedily.

When he was drained I lifted him from the floor and rushed away, needing to destroy the evidence of my feed. There was a very useful fire burning in a trashcan not far from where he had resided and I dropped his empty, limp body into the burning flames cringing at the smell of burning flesh. The usual feeling of contentment mixed with some displeasure stirred within me as I watched the fire melt his flesh from his bones. Sighing I turned away and ran back home, enjoying the freedom running at my speed brought within me.

...

I would have spent Sunday moving my furniture in but Alice, apparently, had other plans for me.

Early morning, around 7 or 8, the delivery men arrived and unloaded all of my purchases and flirted with me on the side. Shivering with disgust I closed the front door and ripped up the paper with one man's number on it. I began to move the furniture about when I heard in the distant the familiar hum of Alice's yellow car approaching and I swore.

She was persistent and insistent in her company, but I found I couldn't really remain vexed at her as she brought fun into my monotonous existence. It was like a breath of fresh air being with her, for all my life I had only met one other whose company I had coveted. But even then, with Alice, her company was even more agreeable.

It was both an unnerving and strangely comforting phenomenon.

She pulled into my driveway in all her shining yellow glory and I noted the three extras.

Rosalie and Emmett I recognised from school, but the third female was unfamiliar and I concluded that she must be Esme. Alice's surrogate mother and matriarch to the coven.

"Hello, Alice, what brings you by on this... fine afternoon?"

She smiled at that, since Forks was rarely fine, and today was no exception. She bounced up to me, "Oh, I figured you'd need a hand with the furniture and decorating so I brought heavy lifting and helping hands."

She waved at the bulk that was her brother Emmett, her mother and Rosalie; who was simply continuing to glare at me.

"Indeed, and I suppose you'll be doing the heavy lifting?" I looked to Alice as I said that and she laughed heartily.

"Yeah right. That's where Emmett shines, I, however, am pretty handy with a paint brush." She smirked and I sighed in defeat. Even though I'd told her yesterday I didn't need any help she doesn't seem to take 'no' for an answer.

"Fine. Whatever. Just don't expect me to feed the beast of a boy. I have next to no food at the moment. Hazards of living by yourself."

He smirked, enjoying the inside joke he didn't know I was in on. "That's absolutely fine. I wasn't hungry anyway."

Clapping his hands and rubbing them he looked at me, "So, what's first on the agenda?"

"Um -" I began my answer only to be cut off by the slightly obnoxious pixie.

"How about we actually go inside so Esme can see what we have to work with?"

"Sure, that'll work."

Esme stepped forwards and gave Alice a look before smiling kindly at me, "I'm sorry for my daughter's applauding lack of manners, I was sure I'd raised her better than that. I'm Esme, her mother." She offered a hand which I took graciously.

"Bella, it is a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am."

I saw Emmett give Alice a funny look and mouth 'ma'am?' who shrugged in response.

"So would you like to come in? I'd say I'm sorry about the mess, but as you can see there's not enough in here for which a mess could be made with."

They laughed and entered gracefully.

Esme studied the room, "It's a lovely home, Bella, but you're in sore need of a paint job."

"Hmm, yes I guess you are correct..." I wasn't sure how that problem could be rectified as I didn't own any paints, Alice, of course, came to the rescue.

"Good thing I brought paint then." She chirped and danced outside. I gave Esme a look and she laughed.

"That's Alice for you."

"Why do I get the feeling even if I didn't need a paint job, we would still have ended up painting."

She came back in, carrying four pots of paint, smirking.

"Because we would have ended up painting."

I shook my head in exasperation, "Fine."

She squealed in delight and raced round the house with Esme talking colours.

I sighed and sat in a seat that was in the middle of my lounge, along with all my other things. Emmett and Rosalie were still in the doorway, he was shaking with laughter while she wasn't exactly glaring. So I think that showed improvement?

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Bella Swan." I stood and walked to them and held my hand out. Rosalie eyed it for some time before taking it gently.

"Rosalie Lillian Hale."

Emmett refused the hand and swept me up into his arms. I tensed and controlled myself, patting his broad shoulder softly.

"Emmett Cullen, at your service!" His deep voice booming throughout the room.

"Um, hi," I huffed out, breathless.

"Emmett, put Bella down!" Alice squealed and Emmett dropped me, guffawing in laughter as I landed ungraciously on my behind.

"Gee, thanks." I muttered, and it simply encouraged the great beast of vampire to roar louder at the look on my face.

A devious plan crossed my mind and I grabbed the paint can beside me and threw the contents at him. Typically however, the cheating vampire dodged and the paint coated a surprised Alice who gasped.

"Ew!" She squealed, "Oh you are so dead!" She declared and glared at me menacingly before charging at me with a paint brush.

I ducked to the side, 'tripping' over my feet and nimbly turning it into an army roll. I grabbed my own brush and held it in front of my like a sword, "On guard!" I challenged and she mirrored my stance.

I lunged first, and she pared my thrust and countered with her own. We danced back and forwards, exchanging blows and making stabs. I currently had one long streak of baby blue on my left cheek and several splotches scattered around my torso and arms. It was actually difficult to tell if I'd gotten her or not since she was already drenched in the stuff.

"For someone so clumsy on their feet, you sure can sword fight!" Alice laughed as I surrendered, and supported myself on my knees as I gulped in completely useless bouts of air. My skin was flushed, my heartbeat rushing and I wiped away pretend sweat from my forehead; although there wasn't actually any there, and unfortunately the vampires would have noticed that, but I couldn't very well produce any actually sweat and I didn't have enough control on my shield to create fake sweat.

"My dad taught me when I was small, and oddly more coordinated. It's as if when puberty hit, I lost all motor function coordination."

In actual fact, I had spent some weeks in Scotland and England watching the Knights of Old fight with their various assortments of weaponry. It was easy enough for me to learn from them how best to fight with such weapons. Not that a flimsy metallic club would be much use against the granite hard skin of a vampire.

It was an entertaining art to learn, and today it filled a purpose of entertaining Alice and her family.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

I opened my eyes and starred at the elaborate design Alice and I had drawn on the ceiling of my bedroom. It was an integration of swirls, sharp edges and contrasting colours, creating an illusion of different pictures and forms depending on how you looked at it. I thought this was a far more interesting thing to do to my ceiling since I actually spent so much time lying on my bed, not sleeping but sometimes slipping into a daydream of sorts, running through old memories or books to pass the time.

I breathed a sign of contentment before swiftly sitting up and choosing a new outfit to wear today. Alice had been sure to hand pick out some things she demanded I wear and I thought it best not to argue with the delightfully, pushy little vampire. Who, despite her small size, carried a lot of weight in the art of getting what she wanted.

I was pleased to find I was feeling more comfortable with the structure of school life, and the interactions it involved. Since I had always been a nomad and I had only ever interacted with one vampire, since humans were for feeding from, I had very little knowledge on how to interact with humans and so for the first week simply catching up with the language of this era proved difficult. It wasn't helpful discovering that these humans were very, touchy, and physical, wanting to hold hands or link arms and hug at every new sighting of their friends.

At first I had been very apprehensive about this, since even though I fooled the humans into thinking my skin was closer to their temperature; I couldn't do the same for the density and hardness. Plus I was constantly thirsty and even with my extreme control, having blood that close makes even me need to remind myself that these particular humans were not in fact my meal.

"Bella!" Alice called to me with the usual excitement and chirpiness and she danced over to me where her family had parked.

Immediately I noticed the return of Edwards scent, it lingered on her clothes, but was also potent and I looked up to see him shooting daggers at Alice's back. I pretended not to notice when he looked up at me, instead smiling at Alice and allowed her to hug me. I could not, however, ignore Edwards attempts to break through my shield and I looked back to catch his eye. He averted his eyes and stormed off in a huff.

"Bella?" Alice asked, and I turned back in surprise, having not heard her speak.

"Yes?"

"Are you even listening to me?" She narrowed her eyes in mock annoyance. Or at least I interpreted it as mock annoyance.

"Yes." I repeated and she rose an eyebrow in obvious disbelieve.

"Then what did I say?"

I pursed my lips in thought, "That you're terribly sorry for getting paint all through my hair and that you're willing to buy me more shampoo since I used all of my up last night washing the stuff out."

Alice giggled and shook her head, "If anyone's complaining about the paint in the hair, it should be me! I mean, you couldn't even see what my actual hair colour was! So if anyone here owes the other shampoo replacement it's you! You did start it after all!" She poked her finger into my shoulder lightly.

"As if! It's not my fault you have zero reflexes!"

"Zero reflexes? Oh, I'll show you zero reflexes!" She exclaimed before poking my other shoulder.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" I laughed and she pondered that seriously.

"Well, it's going to snow, I'll get you then, with the biggest snowball you'll ever see!" I frowned at her wording.

"Wait? How do you know it's going to snow?"

She widened her eyes in fright, realising she'd said something she shouldn't have, "Um, good guess?"

"Alice, that wasn't a guess. You sounded certain."

Her head turned and her eyes darted about nervously, "Um, the bell's going to go soon, and I can't be late to class." She hedged and darted away without a goodbye, leaving me slightly dazed in her dust.

I'd never seen her quite so nervous before and it made me suspicious. Her wording had been 'It's going to snow' as though she knew with absolute certainty that it would. Vampires naturally were more in touch with the patterns of the weather; we could smell a change in the atmosphere and know if rain or a storm or something was approaching, so maybe it wasn't that entirely surprising Alice knew. Now that I actually concentrated I could detect a slight change, but I was concentrating hard and even with my advanced senses I couldn't be as completely positive as she had been.

There was more to Alice than simply immortality and a desire for blood. She was hiding something other than that from me and I was determined to discover what it was. I figured that as long as she continued to keep her inhumanness from me, I could do the same without guilt, but the other thing, her power. Well, I wanted to know what it was, if perhaps it could be a potential threat to me. Of course I had yet to find an ability that wasn't rendered useless or powerless by my own, but it never hurt to be too careful.

Knowledge was power, and in this case lack of knowledge could potentially mean my capture.

Other humans greeted me as the bell rang and I made my way to my first period, enjoying the slight tickling of the spitting rain.

As Alice had predicted I sensed snow and as I exited the classroom with Mike in tow the air was full with the swirling white.

"Wow, it's snowing." Mike said, stating the obvious.

I looked up and around, twirling in the little cotton fluffs falling from the sky. "So it is!"

I stopped my rotation and was hit in the face with a ball of snow. "Alice!" I hissed as I heard her chiming laugh and I ducked the second ball heading my way.

"Who's got the ninja reflexes now!" She laughed as hurled another ball that I allowed to hit my shoulder. I swooped down and grabbed a handful of white, quickly moulded it into a ball and threw one back. She cheated and twirled out of the way, straight into my second ball.

"You were saying?" I jeered and she pouted before breaking into fits of giggles, preventing her from dodging a third ball.

"Hey! This is a Celine original! Don't wreck it with balls of mush!"

I laughed again, and tossed another one to emphasise how much I cared for designer clothing. Her eyes narrowed as she crouched and scooped up several balls, and then threw them in close succession, at borderline vampire speed. I managed to duck under the first few, but the next one hit me square in the face and I squealed in fright at the 'coldness'.

"You know, I never would have picked you for a snowball fighter." Alice giggled and I laughed along with her, stepped forwards casually before dumping a handful of snow into her hair and rubbed it in. Being sure not to actually pull any hairs out of course.

Her eyes widened and her jaw opened in shock before she pushed me off. "That is so uncool!"

"On the contrary I would imagine it's very _cool_." I smirked and hopped away as she lunged forwards to return the favour.

"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!" I taunted as I continued to evade her. I had heard this years and years ago, watching some small children run around the school playground.

I decided then that I'd been a little to graceful and fluid with my movements and tactics in dodging Alice so as I spun I forced my foot to slip on a patch of iced grass and I threw my arms out to recover the balance I'd lost, but to no avail as I toppled over onto my backside into the wet snow.

"Oof," I huffed as the air rushed from my dormant lungs and I stayed lying down for the sake of it.

"Bella, you okay?" Alice asked, a hint of concern colouring her tone.

"Yip, just need to catch my breath," I replied and had a pile of snow dumped on my face. I jerked up in surprise, "Hey, way to hit me while I'm down."

She laughed, "Pay back," And offered her hand in a sign of truce. I accepted it and pulled myself up easily.

Her smile was still on her face as her eyes twinkled in mirth. I sighed and gestured we begin to walk towards our next classes.

"I guess I'll be seeing you at lunch?" I asked gently and Alice's smile widened as she nodded.

"Until then, I bid you farewell." I waved and she laughed, gave me a sweeping bow before gliding off to her class.

Throughout the rest of the morning my human friends had either seen or heard of the little snowball fight I had with Alice and took it upon themselves to continue the bombardment. I couldn't make it anywhere without a snowball hitting me, or being thrown towards me.

I finally made it into the cafeteria and had to shake my head viciously to get rid of the build up of snow. Angela and Jessica squealed in girlish surprise as the snow hit them and we headed for the line, since I was going to be sitting with Alice I decided on just getting a soda as I could at least pretend to drink that. Food was more difficult and I didn't feel like ruining today by throwing up what my body could no longer digest.

"Hey, Bella!" Alice popped up in front of me, and I blinked rapidly.

"Hello, Alice, would you like to sit with us?" I looked towards Angela and Jessica, silently asking them if that was alright, both were surprised but nodded to show they didn't mind.

"Sure!"

I smiled and we followed Angela and Jessica's lead, sitting beside each other with Mike and Eric looking at us in awe.

It was obvious that Alice had never socialised outside of her family before due to the identical reactions to her sitting beside me was having on the humans I socialised with.

Lauren was staring at Alice in a manner that was not polite, nor in awe. It was discontentment, she wasn't pleased in the least with this newest addition to her 'group' since she had herself a 'queen bee' image.

"So, Alice, what made you decide to grace us with your presence today?" She asked, her tone attempting to be impassive, but her acting skills were in sore need of a lesson or ten.

"Bella invited me."

She raised her eyebrows at that, "So that was all it would have taken was to invite you, or say Edward to sit with us?"

"Perhaps... you should give it a try sometime." She had a smirk on her face that gave me the impression she knew exactly what would happen if Lauren were to do as much. I thought now was a good time to introduce them, "Alice, this is Angela, Jessica, Lauren, Mike and Eric." I gestured at each person as I spoke their names and they each mumbled a hello, all too shy to know what to say. It was rather amusing for me to see the reaction they all had to Alice, to the combination of her beauty and vampirism. She was quite intimidating, but all the time she'd spent with me over the past week had caused her to lose some of her natural scary edge as she had to concentrate on not scaring me.

"Hey, Bella, I think Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica told me in a whisper and I reflexively turned and caught his eyes. He was indeed staring and I felt the familiar probing, the pressure he was applying to my shield in a pointless attempt to break it and read my thoughts. Disinterested I turned away and nudged Alice, "I think he's jealous of you. Getting to sit here with the rest of us, I mean we are the coolest kids in this school." I joked and she snorted, something I had never heard her do before and I couldn't help but laugh.

"That's highly probable."

For the rest of the lunch hour we talked, joked, laughed and I nearly started a food fight.

Alice just brought out a playful side to me I hadn't been aware of.

She made me want to play, to tease and make jokes.

Looping her arm through mine we made our way to Art, still laughing at something Angela had said and continuing the joke.

"Seriously though, Bella, for such a klutz you sure now how to pick a fight," Alice was saying and I shrugged. "You bring out the warrior in me."

She giggled behind her hand, but the teacher heard and warned us if we didn't keep it down she'd be forced to remove us. We both giggled again but quietly and shushed each other.

Too soon the end bell rang and Alice waved at the door as we parted, "Have fun in Bio."

I snorted and walked off, not really wanting to sit beside Edward and have to endure his glares, but I didn't have much choice in the matter.

The seat beside me was empty when I entered and I sat down, waiting for Mr. Banner to give me a microscope and box of slides that he was distributing around the classroom. I doodled on the cover of my textbook and smelt Edward before he'd entered the room, ignoring it I continued doodling until the chair beside me moved, scrapping along the floor creating a horrible screeching noise.

"Hello," a quiet, musical voice spoke and I couldn't not look up.

Edward Cullen was looking at me, but sitting as far from me as the desk allowed, "My name is Edward Cullen," he continued, "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week," _'Because you were too busy trying not to eat me,' _I thought, "You must be Bella Swan. Alice has told me much about you."

'_Has she now? How much did she willingly tell you verbally, and how much did you pluck out of her thoughts?' _I wondered.

"Yes, I am Bella." I replied and he watched me, seeming to wait for me to begin a conversation.

Mr. Banner started the class then and explained that we were to identify the phases of mitosis from the separate slides and label them in corresponding order.

"Get started," he ordered and Edward offered that I begin.

The task was simple enough, considering I'd done some reading up on Biology due to the fact that this was my first time attending an educational facility and I hadn't be entirely sure what we would be learning so I'd simply read everything there was to know about the subjects I'd be taking. It filled in one night of my first week.

I placed the first slide in and took a fleeting peek.

"Prophase," I determined and began to remove the slide.

"Do you mind if I look?" Edward asked and moved to stop me. The skin on skin contact was of equal temperature, though to him I would have appeared warm. But as his skin brushed mine, my mind flashed to a memory far back in my past. Back to my human memories, ones I'd thought I'd forgotten. It was a moment similar to this, a moment of skin on skin contact and it was what lead to my being changed.

I was so shocked by this I jerked my hand away and he retreated slightly.

"I'm sorry," He murmured, and reached for the microscope. He examined the slide for about the same time as I had and agreed with my assessment,

"Prophase."

I had been too distracted by the sudden memory I hadn't written the answer, so Edward filled it in before moving onto the next slide.

"Anaphase," writing it down as he spoke. I simply took his word for it, desperately fighting to compose myself.

"Slide three," He added, pushing the microscope to me and I took a quick glance.

"Interphase," And passed it back to him before he could ask and wrote the answer beneath his two entries.

We finished long before anyone else was even remotely close and so I started doodling again, trying to find a distraction of the torrent my thoughts were in.

I could feel Edward watching me and instead of ignoring it, I glanced up sharply and stared right back. Showing him I wasn't intimidated in the least.

"It's too bad about the snow isn't it?" He asked, continuing his attempts at breaking into my shield.

"Not really," I replied honestly, disinterested.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question and I bristled at his assumptions.

"I never said that. The cold has never bothered me, in fact I like it but I happen to love the rain." Again I spoke the truth; there was something about the rain that intrigued me. It soothed and calmed me in a way nothing else could.

He frowned as though I were some fascinating puzzle he had yet to solve, "Is that why you came to Forks?"

I shook my head in response and he seemed to get frustrated by my lack of answers.

"So why did you come here?"

"Why does it matter to you?" I answered his question with my own and his frown deepened.

"I'm not sure."

Mr. Banner called attention to the class then and Edward turned away. I was still annoyed with him so I flicked my hair just as he inhaled and was almost pleased to see his violent reaction. His entire frame tensed, he leaned away and began crushing the table edge again.

When the bell finally rang, just as I had planned, Edward rushed from the room in a hurry to escape me and my intoxicating scent.

I laughed to myself and even allowed Mike to tag along beside me. He had noticed Edward's attention to me and was asking me about it. I answered impartially, not really interested in the topic of Edward Cullen.

As I made my way to my truck I felt eyes on me and I looked up to see Alice and Edward watching me, Alice waved a large smile stretching her lips whereas Edward continued to glare in frustration. Choosing to ignore that I paused as Alice said farewell to him and made her way over, nearly skipping.

"Hey, Bella, how was Biology?"

"Um, it was... pleasant?" I said it like a question and she giggled.

"You're too polite for your own good. So what are you doing tonight?"

"Uh, I guess you can tell me since I'm getting the impression you're just going to invite yourself over."

"Oh no, I couldn't ever impose myself on you like that. But since you're offering how about we work on the English assignment you were given today."

I gave her a puzzled look, "How did you...?"

Her smile widened, "Everyone was complaining about it."

I laughed and hoped into my truck as she made her way to the passenger side.

I pulled out and lurched forwards, laughing at the roar of the beast.

"How can you stand to drive in this heap?" Alice exclaimed after we'd been travelling maybe five minutes.

"Hey, be nice to it. It has character!" I defended it, even though I totally agreed with her. This truck was painfully slow.

"Oh please, this truck's older than my grandfather!" She exclaimed and I snorted,

"I seriously doubt that." I muttered and she gave me a look. "I brought it new!" I added on, hoping it would cover up my slip up. It did thankfully as she burst into fits of laughter again.

"Yes, it's new to you. But this model is at least 60 years old."

I huffed and turned into my driveway.

"You should respect your elders. And this truck is your elder." I said seriously as I patted the dashboard and hoped out.

Her peals of laughter got louder and were still going when we entered the house and made it into my room.

"Okay you can stop that now." I was leaning against the doorframe of my bedroom door watching her clutch her sides and roll on the bed.

"R-respect your elders! Oh, Bella, you're a hoot!" She gasped out between gulps of air and continuous laughter.

"Thank you; you've been a wonderful audience, I'll be here all week!" I exclaimed to an imaginary audience and gave a sweeping bow. Alice whistled between her fingers and clapped enthusiastically.

...

I was lying on my stomach, writing into my folder when I heard Alice's pen stop scratching. I looked up to see her staring at me, similar to when we had been in her car.

"Yes?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral and therefore not betraying the odd sensation she was stirring inside me.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing just that homework is really boring. How about we do something else?" She was nibbling on the end of her pen with a thoughtful expression on her face, "what about a movie?"

I lifted an eyebrow, unsure what that meant. She frowned at my confused expression, "You know? A movie? As in a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement? Any of that ring any bells, Bella?"

"Uh," I was incredibly embarrassed and wasn't entirely sure how to dig myself out of this one, "I don't really have any, haven't had the chance to... buy any?" I hoped that might do it, but I was so unsure of myself it came out like more of a question.

"You've never seen a movie? Where have you been for the last fifty odd years? Kept in a box?" She asked incredulously and I blushed deeper. It was getting easier to manufacture human reactions to different emotions and now I didn't even need much conscious thought to activate a 'blush'. Alice straightened, clapping her hands together, "Right, that's it; I'm taking you to the movies!"

"What? Right now?" I asked, totally oblivious to what 'going to the movies' would involve.

"Huh? No, um, how about this Friday? That way you can have a sleep in on Saturday if we're up too late." She planned it all for me and I just nodded, agreeing with whatever she wanted since I didn't want more spotlight on my stupidity. It was obvious I needed to do a lot more research on this era, and all the social actions this generation of humans did. Being a nomad and on the run, the centuries had flown past and all I'd managed to keep up with was how many days had pasted me by.

Alice returned to studying me in that familiar way that caused my stomach to figuratively churn and I dropped my eyes, suddenly finding the floor positively fascinating.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Bella Swan was a fascinating human, unlike any I had ever met. True, I didn't usually socialise with humans as a general rule.

They were mortal beings and mortality meant death. Being immortal meant if I were to get attached to them I'd eventually have to watch them die, be it from old age, sickness or some accident. They are very fragile and easily disposed of if you think about it.

What a morbid thought, but, alas, that was where my thoughts lead me to every time I took the time to think about Bella, which was 90% of the time. She was slowly eating at me, from the inside. Consuming me, controlling me until all I could think about was her. The mystery of her past, one she never spoke of, the odd little things she did, or didn't know. Such as the case with the movies... what kind of 21st century teenager has never seen a movie? Let alone _heard_ of one. Apparently the kind of teenager that has no problem hanging with a blood-sucking immortal vampire.

She was a case of inconsistencies, of contrasting and conflicting characteristics. Where she was incompetent on her feet, she loved to pick fights. Already she'd started a paint and snowball fight, and been close to starting one involving food.

Where she was articulate and intelligent, she lacked common knowledge. Her language was generation's older than her age; she spoke fluently, without hesitancy or mistake. Only when I caught her by surprise did she stale and I rarely ever hear her abbreviate her words. While she was mature and behaved, sometimes even dark and serious she also had a playful, childish side that made her shine with an innocence rarely seen in this day and age.

I was completely taken by her, attracted to her in a way I had never been before, to anyone. I wanted to spend hours with her, just be in her presence. I wanted to learn everything about her, but this was difficult since she was incredibly reserved to the point of being secretive. She skilfully hedged questions that involved to much personal detail in the answers and sometimes I got the distinct impression she knew what I was hiding. Because someone as intuitive and perceptive as she was could not have missed moments I was not human. Like how I never ate or drank, I moved with a little too much grace, too much perfection. But she never questioned it, she never point-blank asked me about it.

Of course I was keeping secrets, like the secret that I wasn't even human and that every single second I spent in her presence I was fighting the monster within me that demanded I drain her, drain every single drop of the blood I knew flowed through her veins.

Blood I heard her heart pumping around her body.

It was this desire, this constant battle that caused the guilt to weigh heavily on my peace of mind. Although I hadn't seen any vision of us growing closer, I _felt_ that we would. I for one wanted to, but it was my being a vampire that held me back, made me hesitant in my advances. I couldn't befriend her in good conscience because I was hiding a fairly big secret from her. I was hiding who, or what, I truly was and it could very well change her decision on whether she wished to continue to be my friend or not. But I couldn't very well tell her, it was against the rules for a human to know about us. That was really the only rule vampires had to abide by, keep our existence secret from our would-be, should-be, prey.

I continued pacing, trying to figure a way out of my dilemma coming up with nothing.

"Alice, please stop that! You're driving me insane." Rosalie scorned as she appeared in my doorway with her trademark scowl.

I ignored her and made to turn for another lap when she grabbed my shoulders.

"What is this about?" She asked, but it was slightly rhetorical.

I sighed, "Bella."

"Of course it is, but what about Bella?" She pushed me to the bed and forced me down, sitting beside me.

"I... want to tell her about... us." I answered, staring at my shoes.

"Is that a good idea?"

"I don't know. I can't see how she'd react if I did." My toes start bumping together.

"Can you see if she'll tell anyone else?" Her tone was impassive, not giving me any hint into her inner feelings on this subject.

"No. In fact, I can't _see_ her at all." I confessed finally. I had noticed this last week after I'd decided to go with her to Seattle to shop for her furniture. My weekend had become black, blank and unknown. It was an occurrence I'd never come across and it confounded me, and even scared me a little.

Rosalie finally showed some emotion, frowning deeply at this disturbing news.

"What do you mean...?"

"As in I can't see anything to do with her! I make a decision to spend time with her and my future disappears! I can't see any future that involves her in any way. I can't see her future period." It felt good to finally get this off my chest, to voice my discomfort and nervousness over a phenomenon that had never occurred before.

"Alice, why didn't you tell us any of this? How long have you known this?" Her voice lowers dangerously and I hang my head in shame.

"I thought it was just a hiccup the first time, but when nothing ever came, even when I searched I thought there was something wrong with me. Maybe my power had a glitch, and then when I thought perhaps it was Bella blocking me, as she did with Edward, I was selfish because I knew how you would react. That you would try to ban me from seeing her, and I didn't want that. I can't stop seeing her Rosalie, I just can't."

She took a deep breath, thinking over what I had admitted.

"She certainly is quite a fascinating human."

I nodded, "That she is."

I sighed again and flopped back onto the ill-used bed, "Edward is driving me insane, his future is fluctuating between oblivion and being in Alaska. He can't make his mind up whether to pursue the human, or leave since he is hazardous to her health and humanity." I sighed again and Rosalie huffed.

"I fail to see what is so appealing about this human. She is nothing more than a human, a mortal, one that is more helpless than usual due to her severe lack of coordination. Apart from her curious avoidance of your talents, there is really nothing special about her."

"Oh contrary, Rosalie, there is something... else about her. I can't even describe it but its there."

Rosalie simply took my word for it and we sat in silence, allowing the time to pass us by.

I decided the smartest move for me to do would be to hunt if I were going to talk to her in the morning. It wasn't that I struggled with controlling myself in her presence; it was just smarter to not allow myself to give her any more reason to believe I was anything other than human, and eyes changing from yellow to black don't tend to happen to humans.

The unappealing scent of deer filled my senses and I closed in on the herd, silent as a ghost I tackled my prey and bit into its neck, my canines cutting through fur, skin and muscles with ease.

...

The sun rose and the time for school arrived. I leapt to my feet, excited about what this day would bring since I didn't actually know.

It was a new experience for me, not knowing. Usually nothing could ever surprise me, I knew what was coming but suddenly with Bella, entire hours became a mystery. That added to Bella's spontaneous nature, I was constantly being surprised and although, admittedly, it was annoying or disconcerting sometimes, most of the time it was a welcome occurrence.

The ride to school was quiet; Emmett and Rosalie were busy gazing into each other's eyes like love-sick puppies while Edward and I sat in the front both in our own thoughts, or perhaps he was trying to get out of Emmett and Rosalie's thoughts.

As he pulled into the lot and parked in our usual spot I immediately searched for the big red truck but it hadn't arrived yet. In fact I could hear the chugging of its ancient motor as it approached. Edward didn't stay with me, instead walked off with Rosalie and Emmett and I watched her turn in and park smoothly. She didn't seem all that put-off by the ice on the ground as she stepped out, but did however manage to drop her keys.

I approached at a human speed and as if sensing me her head lifted as she looked up in surprise that turned into a sweet smile. I waved and she waited patiently for my arrival.

"Good morning, Bella how was your evening after I left?" I asked in my usual enthusiastic manner and was pleased when I didn't react to her blush. She blushed a lot, so I had ample time to adjust to it.

"Pleasant, thank you, Alice, and yours?" She replied in her usual polite and soft, bordering timid, voice.

"It was nice; I actually finished the Calculus homework we didn't get around to." I smirked and her eyes danced in amusement.

"Because you kept distracting me from the English essay we were _meant_ to be working on." She continued smiling and stepped forwards to tell me silently that we should head towards our first class. I turned and a horrible screeching of breaks filled my ears. My eyes darted up and I only had enough time to register the fact that Tyler's van was skidding out of control on a collision course with us before I felt two surprisingly strong hands grab my shoulders pulling me to the ground. I landed on Bella's oddly solid frame and she flipped me so that we rolled under her truck just as the van collided with it. The truck was large enough it barely moved, but I heard the shattering of glass and groan of metal giving way.

We were on our sides, facing each other and Bella's back was facing the van

Bella opened her eyes and found mine, "Are you alright?" She breathed panicked and terrified.

"Y-yes," I stuttered.

The van and truck had stopped moving, but there was screaming and terrified humans yelling for help and us. I was unable to sit up or move much so I stayed were I was, oddly enjoying the close proximity we had. She seemed unharmed, her breathing wasn't laboured, a little rushed, but she was shivering from the cold, and possibly shock.

We were forced to stay lying under the truck and van until the medics and help arrived to remove the vehicles. Bella immediately stood and began refusing medical treatment and insisted she was fine and just wanted to go to school.

They stepped forwards to force her into a stretcher and I saw her eyes flash dangerously. Quickly I intervened, "Bella, just come to the hospital, please, we won't make you go on a stretcher but you need to be checked out. I mean, you narrowly avoided a car from crushing you but you still took a hard fall." I pleaded with her and was relieved when she conceded, sitting in the ambulance very reluctantly. Before I climbed in with her, I looked over to see my family glaring at me. _'It wasn't me!' _I thought desperately to Edward, _'Bella did it. She pulled me under the truck just before the van hit us.'_ I saw he believed me and his glare turned into one of confusion and deep thought.

We eventually arrived at the hospital and Bella was immediately given a bed to lie in while Carlisle attended to Tyler, who had been driving the van and been the only one injured. She huffed and complained, taking note of the fact that I wasn't forced into a bed.

"Daughter of the number one Doctor in town gets you privileges." I smirked and she huffed again louder.

"This is completely ridiculous, I'm _fine._"

"Bella, please, just go with the flow. You took a nasty fall and I'm pretty sure I heard something crack."

"That was the _ice,_ you know? The stuff I slipped on!" She exclaimed and I couldn't hold in a chuckle which resulted in a dirty look.

"That has got to have been the most convenient and lucky clumsy moment I've ever seen! I mean, not only did you slip, but you took me down too, and then rolled under the truck just before the van hit us."

She shrugged, "Guess being a klutz has to come in handy at some point. And I was simply trying to regain my balance, it's not my fault you're too small to hold me up." She added on and I frowned. It hadn't felt as though she'd been trying to hold herself up, but that she'd been trying to pull me down with her. But how could I voice that without revealing that she shouldn't have been able to do that at all.

All of this just added to the growing mystery of Bella Swan and reinforced my thoughts that perhaps she was something other than human, or at least more than human.

I laughed and she smiled sweetly before lapsing back into silence, watching the curtain wave in the breeze.

Carlisle eventually came round and as he entered the room Bella looked up and gave him a polite smile.

"Bella Swan?" He asked politely and she nodded smile intact.

"How are you feeling?" He stepped forwards and she shrugged.

"I'm fine, Dr. Cullen." She answered and gave me a playful glare, "Alice is just overreacting."

Carlisle smiled, "I think I'll still need to see for myself, I'm just going to do a routine check up; Alice tells me you may have hit your head on your fall?" He asked stepping closer and keeping his tone smooth and polite.

"I did not. What she thought was a crack of my skull, was actually the ice breaking under my weight." She huffed and allowed him to manoeuvre her head and body as he went about his examination.

"You seem to be in working order, but I'm going to suggest you take the rest of the day off. Have you got a ride home?"

She shook her head, "No but I can walk. My house isn't far."

"Nonsense, I'll give you a ride home. Carlisle, can I borrow your car?" I asked him and he nodded, answering that his keys were in his office. He moved onto Tyler and I watched as Bella flopped back onto the bed to wait for me to return.

...

"You know, Bella, if you were a superhero I'm pretty sure your power would be convenient clumsiness. I mean, how more lucky can someone get than to slip on a bit of ice just seconds before a car is about to total them?" I laughed as we sped through Forks.

Bella chuckled, "Well I guess this is just karma paying off. After all the inconvenient and often embarrassing slips and falls I have had in the past, it is about time I got a lucky break and it saved my life instead of humiliating it."

"There's one thing I can't really figure out is how you managed to pull me down with you." I hinted, hoping that maybe my light tone wouldn't make her defensive. Her smile didn't falter as she replied easily, "Oh, please you're, what, 4'8"? I'm 5'4". I don't think it is really that hard for my weight to overpower your strength."

It was a perfectly structured answer, the tone precise and words chosen carefully. I may have been overreacting but my intuition sparked and something wasn't right, but while my intuition informed me of something being amiss, it also warned me to tread carefully. Bella was a private and guarded person, I was well-aware by now that she was keeping things from me, but she gave me the distinct impression that it would be very easy for her to pack up and leave without a trace if she feels threatened. So for now I would leave these inconstancies until I gained her trust, something I felt was actually a difficult thing to do.

"Shouldn't you be going back to school?"

I looked to her as I turned the engine of the car off, "Nope. I'm emotionally traumatised by nearly being hit by a van; I literally saw my life flash before my eyes. And you know what?"

"What's that?"

"I have a terribly boring life!" I laughed and she snorted. "I mean all I saw was magazines and clothes!"

"You need to get a life." Bella teased and I poked her shoulder before stepping out of the car.

"Yeah? And what did you see?"

She pursed her lips, "Books." Her black eyes blinked several times, "Seriously that's it! Book, after book, after book!"

I laughed, "I think we both need to do some more exciting things with our lives."

"Like what? Extreme sports? I think playing chicken counts as an extreme sport and we just did that."

Our laughter didn't stop as we began discussing more exciting things to fill our days with. Some of the ideas we came up with were completely ridiculous and some I actually seriously considered, like skydiving... except perhaps not for Bella. With her luck her parachute wouldn't open and she end up landing on some poor civilian.

"What are you cooking for dinner tonight?" I asked, after the laughter had died down a bit and a silence had become to fall between us.

She bit her bottom lip in thought, "I have no idea actually, what would you like?"

I pretended to think, "I think Esme is actually expecting me home for tea tonight. No doubt she'll want the first hand retelling of how my new friend/superhero used her powers of clumsiness to save me from the big bad van that was about to squash me."

She nodded and laughed, "I really don't know why we're making jokes about this, I mean we could well have died today, instead we're taking the Mickey out of my incompetence in standing on my feet."

"Adrenaline does funny stuff to you."

"That it does. That it does."

...

We spent the rest of the day mucking around, and eventually knuckled down and finished that essay we had started yesterday. I read over Bella's and was amazed to see the depth and structure of it. It was off university standards and I raised an eyebrow at her, "You sure you haven't done this paper before?"

She shrugged, "Well, I was in an advanced class in Phoenix, plus I'm just a genius." She pretended to dust dirt off her shoulders in a gesture of cockiness and I threw a sock at her.

"I think your ego needs to be taken down a notch or two,"

She threw the sock back, "I think me and my ego are just fine thank you very much. O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster."

"I think your nerdy roots are showing Bella." I laughed at her quotation of Shakespeare's Othello and she joined in.

"You do realise we're going to have to return to school tomorrow?" I informed her and she gave me a mock look of horror.

"No! Not school? I thought nearly being hit by a car would get me at least the week off!"

"Ah, but alas, you weren't actually hit by it. School doesn't excuse near-misses, there's nothing physically wrong with you."

"Maybe I should have hit my head," She mumbled and I giggled.

"Oh, please Bella you can't fool you, you actually like school!"

"True, but I'm trying to fit in with the other teenagers who think school is such a _drag._"She placed emphasis and an accent on the word 'drag', and ended up sounding like some grandparent trying to keep up with the words of the younger generation. I clutched my ribs as another fit of laughter incapacitated me.

I was honestly beginning to think I spent more time laughing in Bella's company than I did actual talking.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

I had a problem.

I'm in hiding.

I've spent my entire existence since I woke up running. From vampires.

Vampires just like this coven I was currently spying on.

So why was I still here? Why was I still in Forks? Why was I still around, threatening my cover by saving one of those vampires from being crushed by a car?

Of course, the car would end up more damaged but I hadn't really thought about that. I hadn't thought that maybe Alice could do the saving and then have the difficulty in trying to explain how it was possible for her 4'8" frame to stop a 115 kg van moving at, at least, 10 miles an hour.

No, the truth was I hadn't thought at all. Alice was about to be hit by a car and that would result in her cover being blown. Now I still couldn't understand why I cared about that, why I cared if she would be forced to move away.

Okay, so maybe I did know.

If her facade was broken, she would be forced to move away and I'd be forced to stay. I wouldn't have been able to move with her because; well, to them I'm a human. A human who _doesn't_ know about vampires so they would feel no real attachment to me, no need to allow me to tag along. But mainly I'm a human and human's age, they age and die so then, in that sense, I can only have a few years with Alice before I would be forced into telling her, or moving away and never seeing her again.

And I didn't want that. Of course, I didn't understand why.

Why I didn't want to stop seeing her, but it was there. I wanted to have as much time with her as possible so I stopped her from exposing herself, by instead risking exposure myself.

How stupid am I?

I shook my head from that train of thought, it was something beyond me. Beyond my understanding. I had done something, selfless? I had risked my own skin, by helping out someone else. And while it felt... nice, it was an inconvenience. I have to remain selfish for my own survival. But if being selfish meant spending less time with Alice, then I didn't want that. If being selfish meant I cut off my contact with Alice, and the Cullen's, to prevent exposure, I didn't want that.

_Damn it_,_ I'm thinking in circles._ I cursed in my head.

Sighing, I returned my attention to the Cullen's, who were currently discussing... me.

"Why didn't you tell us you couldn't 'see' Bella? Do you know how risky that is for us?" Edward was growling at Alice who ducked her head in embarrassment. "I can't read her and now you can't see her? And the more time you spend with her, the more she's going to notice that you're not human. And we won't be able to tell if she's suspicious."

I didn't really understand what he meant by 'see' me, but I figured it would be in relevance to her ability. Edward was pacing back and forth, throwing his arms around like an enraged diva while Alice sat on one of the couches. Carlisle and Esme stood together and Rosalie and Emmett sat on the adjacent couch.

"Edward, that's enough," Esme interrupted him as he opened his mouth to restart his onslaught, "We can all see she feels badly about this and as troubling as it is, I'm sure she had her reasons." Her kind eyes turned to Alice who was chewing her bottom lip.

She sighed and lifted her hazel eyes to Esme, "I'm sorry, I was selfish. I didn't tell you because I knew that this would happen, that you'd all immediately feel threatened by her and want me to either stop spending time with her or have us move again. I didn't want either, I... like Bella, I like spending time with her and it's been so long since I've made a new friend. That any of us have actually branched outside our family. You all know how much I like meeting new people -"

"Meeting new people? Oh please, Alice, stop being ridiculous we both know there's more to it than that,"

Alice leapt to her feet, "Get _out_ of my head, Edward." She hissed and Edward actually blanched, both in fright at the fox-terrier ferociously Alice was portraying and apology. It seemed as though he was apologetic at being in her head and I wondered if he was sincere in his manner, or if it was a pretence to gain the sympathy of his parents.

"Alice," Esme chastised and I had my answer at the smug glint that entered Edwards's eyes.

She clenched her jaw and sat back down, ignoring Edward.

"I'm sorry, Esme. I know I should have told you all able my inability to see Bella and I was selfish, but I'm going to tell you now. I'm going to continue to be selfish, I like Bella. She's my friend and so far she hasn't been asking any questions, I'm going to continue being her friend whether I have your blessing or not."

Everyone looked at Alice in surprise, as did I, though no one knew that. Alice was usually such a light, good-natured person, but here she was... stern, and nearing anger. I had never heard her speak like this and apparently neither had her family.

She crossed her arms over her chest like a petulant child and half-glared at her family, daring anyone to contradict her decision.

"I didn't know you felt so strongly about this, Alice; of course we won't force you into anything against your wishes." Esme spoke quietly, her soft voice sounding slightly hurt.

Alice nodded, and stood fluidly, "If that is all, I'm going to go for a run."

The family nodded and she walked towards the door that led to the porch and their backyard. I quickly stepped away so that she wouldn't walk into me and followed her, easily keeping up with her speed.

She moved with lithe grace as she danced between the trees and branches of the forest and I watched her with fascination and interest. It was pleasant to be running with her, even though she didn't actually know I was here with her.

Running had always been a pleasant experience for me, the freedom it brought. To be so fast, so fast that my feet barely touched the ground I could imagine that I was flying.

Similar to her room, she came to a sudden stop and I literally had to leap over her to avoid actually running into her. Her head whipped from side to side, eyes searching vigorously. They narrowed and her eyebrow furrowed.

"Hello?" She asked and I froze, thinking I had been caught.

Her head tilted forwards slightly as she listened intently and I was sure to stop breathing and stand absolutely motionless. It was an impossibility that she could know I was here, my shield was operating and I had only hunted two days ago so there was no way it had a fault.

She sighed, "Geez, Alice you're going crazy."

She fell back onto the ground, landing on her back and causing a whirlwind of leaves and dust. I wasn't entirely sure how long she laid there, arms spread out, eyes closed and breathing evenly before in another sudden move she was back on her feet.

"Damn it," She cursed and kicked a rock. And said rock hit a tree, causing a small crater to be formed into the trunk of it. I had never seen her throw a tantrum, but I think this was as close as I was going to get as she started kicking various object on the ground and within her range.

I heard footsteps and looked up to see Emmett approaching, too far away for Alice to have sensed him yet. He was running so a few seconds later Alice heard him as well and stopped her assault on the ground, which was now clean of leaves, rocks, twigs and snow. Just a bare near perfect circle of moist dirt. She turned as Emmett stopped and gave her an odd look as it was dead obvious what had happened.

"Alice, it's time for school." His large body towered over her and she nodded, sighing but then a dazzling smile appeared on her face. I wondered what it was that caused it but didn't linger on the thought as I realised I needed to be at school too.

I left Alice with Emmett to return to my home, arriving in mere minutes.

My clothes were the same as the ones I was wearing yesterday so I changed quickly and was met with the situation where I had no truck to drive to school. Since my truck was still in the parking lot and Tyler's was in the dump, being sold for scrap metal.

I bit my lip, irritated that I was going to be forced to walk. My truck may have been slow, but walking at human speed would be a nightmare and I couldn't turn up to school early without a truck.

Sighing I locked my front door and set off down the road, containing the deep urge to run as I walked on the side of the road, through the untamed grass and overgrown bush and trees.

The familiar humming of Edward's Volvo entered my hearing range and I quickly lifted my hood, not really wanting him to know who it was walking to school, in the rain. It passed me quickly and I looked up and met the eyes of Alice Cullen, who was staring right at me having turned in her seat to see who the pitiful human was walking in the rain. I knew she saw me, that she recognised me but the car didn't stop and so I continued my long, painfully slow walk.

...

I eventually arrived halfway through first period and Jessica asked me what kept me. I answered honestly by saying since my truck was still in the parking lot; I had been forced to walk. She laughed quietly behind her hand and for revenge I shook my head like a dog, spraying her with the cold liquid.

"Ew, Bella, that's disgusting!" She squealed and raised her hands in a poor attempt to protect her face from the spray.

I laughed, "That's what you get for laughing at my having to walk, especially after such a traumatic experience of nearly being crushed."

She eyed me, making sure I was seriously kidding before joining in lightly, "Are you sure you're okay though? I mean, I'd be completely freaked by the whole thing. Actually, I am freaked by it. You and Alice were nearly crushed! How did you end up under your truck anyway?"

I sighed, predicting this would be how the rest of my day would be like, "Yes, I'm fine. Just before the van hit us, I slipped on a patch of ice, grabbed Alice and she came down with me and by then we had heard it and rolled under the truck in instinct."

Her jaw dropped slightly in her surprise, "Oh, wow that was insanely lucky. How are you sitting there telling me all this so calmly?"

I bit my lip in thought, "I'm not sure, I guess it's still a little surreal if you understand what I mean."

She nodded and the Trigonometry teacher called on her for an answer to a question she wouldn't have heard.

After she had fumbled through the answer, with some whispered help from me the teacher returned his attention to the rest of the class and she turned to me.

"So I was thinking of asking Mike to the dance," She started off and I knew what was coming next, "I was wondering if that would be okay?"

"Why would you need my permission?" I asked, though I knew exactly why. Even though I'd shown no interest whatsoever in Mike, he was still giving me the puppy dog treatment, following me around and fighting with Eric for my favour.

"Well, I thought maybe you would be asking him?" She blushed from embarrassment, but I ignored the tempting blood easily.

"I'm not going."

She brightened visibly, "Oh, are you sure? I mean it's going to be fun!"

"I'm not one for dances." Truthfully, I didn't know how to dance. I hadn't gotten much opportunity to dance but I had no intention in revealing this to her, so I produced an imaginary excuse, "And besides I'm going to be out of town."

She nodded and then began gushing about her plans on how she was going to do it. I listened half-heartedly, not completely understanding the significance of the event.

...

"You know, Bella, you should have called me." Alice chastised me, giving me the distinct feeling of being a six-year being told-off by their parent for misbehaving.

We were sitting in the cafeteria with Angela and Mike and the rest eating lunch, or pretending to for Alice and I, and this was the first opportunity she'd had to talk to me since Art was the only period we shared, and it was after lunch.

"Why?" I asked in genuine curiosity.

She gave me a look, one that clearly said 'are you serious?'

"You're not serious? I mean, you just walked to school from your house and ended up being late for your first period, and you're still dripping! You could well get sick! And you're asking why you should have called me to give you a lift to school?" She shook her head like I was a lost cause. "So why didn't you call me?"

I shrugged, "The rain doesn't bother me, and I didn't want you to go out of your way to pick me up." It was a fairly lame excuse and she knew that I knew that.

"Bella, I basically pass your house on my way to school. It's barely a two minute detour!"

"That's because you drive like a maniac!" I retorted petulantly, crossing my arms in defiance and subtlety changing the subject.

"Since when has my driving ever been an issue for you? If you felt I was going too fast for you, why didn't you say anything then? You've had ample opportunities to say 'oh, Alice you're driving much too fast for my liking, please do slow down.'" She mimicked me, pitching her tone two octaves higher than usual.

"Because I didn't want to offend you, you were driving and for all I knew if I insulted your driving skills you'd push me out of the car!"

Alice's eyes widened momentarily before she snorted, "You're ridiculous, Bella. Do you know that? Completely and utterly absurd."

"Don't call me absurd," I huffed and scrunched my nose at her in displeasure.

"Will you two stop bickering? You're worse than an old married couple!" Angela exclaimed and threw her arms up in the air in exasperation.

Alice and I turned on her, "We are not!" Crying at her in synchronisation; this only succeeded in causing Angela and the rest of the table to burst into hysterical laughter.

"You guys are more entertaining than television any day." Mike said through his laughter and wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

"Shut up, Mike," We both snapped at the same time again. He rolled into another round of laughter and we glared at him, then the rest of the table.

The bell rang then and Alice bounced to her feet, offering her hand to pull me up.

"Haven't you learnt by now that you can't possibly carry my weight?" I teased as I stood and collected my things.

"Oh, please! The only reason you pulled me with you was because it was completely unexpected, I was totally unprepared for it."

"Well, you should know by now to expect the unexpected with me. And there are only so many times you can use that excuse, 'oh, I wasn't prepared for that!'" I mimicked her in the same fashion she had done to me earlier, by pitching my tone and fluttering my hands around.

"I do not sound like that!" She exclaimed indignantly and whacked my arm lightly, which only caused her to laugh harder,

"Oh, I think a mosquito just bit me! Unless that was you hitting me, Alice, I can't really tell the difference between the two." I taunted and she glared, scrunching her nose up in displeasure and the cutest of fashions.

We sat in our usual seats and after she'd pulled her equipment out she turned on me, "Don't think I didn't notice that terrible attempt at changing the subject."

I looked at her in surprise, and widened my eyes in innocence. She smirked.

"Don't play the innocent card on me either, missy. You think I don't notice when you hedge my questions? Or change the topic completely? You're not as sly as you think you are."

I sighed and flicked my hair behind my shoulder.

"So, why didn't you call me to ask for a ride? I would have happily given you one." She persisted and I shrugged.

"I honestly don't have a reason. I just didn't think to call. Walking was not a problem and I will be driving home after school, so it isn't a big deal."

She didn't seem pleased with my answer, but didn't push the issue.

"So have you asked anyone to the dance?" She asked and I gave her an odd look.

"I'm not going."

She seemed genuinely surprised, "Why not?"

"I am going to be out of town that weekend."

"So what will we be doing out of town?"

I smirked, "I don't seem to recall inviting you."

Her smile widened, "So, what will we be doing?" She repeated.

"_We_ won't be doing anything. _I_ will be going to see an old acquaintance in Seattle. I'm not sure what you will be doing to entertain yourself."

"Ouch, Bella way to shoot me down." Her shoulders slumped slightly and I felt that maybe I had been a little rude in my rejection.

"I apologise if I offended you, Alice." I apologised sincerely.

"But you're still not going to spend that weekend with me?"

"No."

Although I wasn't sure if my friend would actually be in Seattle that weekend I could easily track him if he had passed through the area recently.

She sighed in disappointment but didn't persist in the matter. And though I felt bad for being rude, I didn't ask her to come because my friend was one I had had for hundreds of years... meaning he was a vampire. One of the only vampires I had ever associated with, excluding the Cullen's of course.

"Maybe you could take me to a movie on the Friday before?" I suggested in a peace offering which I was pleased to see she accepted.

"Instead of just one movie, how about you come over and we do an entire marathon, and you could just stay the night?"

I couldn't deny her when she gave me that look of utter dejection combined with pitiful pleading. So against my better judgement (I seemed to do that a lot with Alice) I agreed.

Her smile was explosive and contagious as she started discussing possible movie titles and genres.

...

Edward sat in his usual seat, but today he wasn't as far from me as usual. I took this as a warning and edged my seat away.

He had watched me enter with blatant admiration and interest and was currently staring at me like a fascinating piece of art. The look in his eyes made me want to slap him and run from the room.

Honestly, I preferred the glaring to this look of adoration.

"I am glad you weren't harmed yesterday." He had lowered the volume of his voice so that it came out sultry and seductive. Though all it did for me was causing my stomach to churn in aversion. Something about Edward reminded me too much of something in my past that I couldn't forget, as much as I wished I could.

Replying as politely as I could manage I kept my tone neutral.

"Thank you, for once being a klutz came in handy." I tried to joke with him to ease some of my tension but it didn't do much, in fact increasing it when he chuckled softly.

"Yes, I have noticed how incompetent you seem to be on your feet." In his attempt at humour I felt insulted and didn't so much at smile. He seemed to notice my coolness as he cleared his throat in discomfort.

"So, you and Alice seem to be quite close?"

I nodded, "Yes, we are. She is quite difficult to dislike." Was all I said on the subject and again he cleared his throat. I never heard a vampire needing to clear their throat so much.

"Do you need a throat lozenge?" I asked, in a polite tone even though I was mocking him.

"No thank you, but I am a little, patched." He smirked at the double meaning behind the word and I had never been so thankful for the teacher interrupting us with a new command that we work in absolute silence for the remainder of the class.

Once the bell went I attempted to hurry from the room but was cut off by Mike who was smiling shyly at me.

"Hey, Bella, I was kind of wondering if maybe you were planning on asking me to the dance?" He stumbled through his sentence and I closed my eyes in agitation. Edward seemed to be smirking as he listened to the thoughts in Mikes head and read my reaction to the boys' question.

"I'm not going to be in town that weekend, Mike. Perhaps you could ask Jessica?" I hinted with not subtlety, hoping the clueless hormonal teenager would pick up on it.

He frowned, "Jessica? Why would I...?" He trailed off as I gave him a pointed look and realisation lit his features. "Oh, Jessica?" He walked away, distracted by this thought and I sighed in relief.

There would be nothing worse for me than to spend an evening in an enclosed room, with sweating humans all of whose blood would be pounding and at the surface of their skin.

Such breakable skin, a pathetically easy barrier to break through to get to the delectable, incredible substance beneath.

"Bella?" I snapped out of my mental drooling to see Alice waving her hand in front of my face, "You okay there? You looked as though you were about to drool."

"Uh, I was thinking about dinner tonight. I'm hungrier than I thought." I explained flimsily and she seemed to belief me but looked slightly doubtful.

"So what's on the menu then?"

"Roast lamb." I answered automatically and she pondered that.

"Sounds good. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow then?"

I nodded and waved as I climbed into my truck, relieved she had brought my very lame reasoning for my temporary brain malfunction.

...

Jessica called me that evening, gushing about how Mike had asked her to the spring dance. I celebrated with her and suggested possible dates for Angela and Lauren. Perhaps Eric and Tyler since they had both asked me, and I'd turned them down so I knew they were available. Not that I told her that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

It was past midnight when I heard him.

I was sitting in my bedroom, reading through an encyclopaedia on the American history, studying up on all that I had missed when his light footprints reached my ears. Shielding myself in pure instinct I sat up and turned the light out before dashing to the window to glance out.

Edward Cullen was running towards my house, his expression conveying his conflicting emotions. While it seemed curiosity won out, he seemed uncomfortable with... stalking me. I stepped back as he crossed my yard and scaled the face of my house. Cursing I dropped my shield and leapt into bed, immediately pretending to sleep. When a low groan of metal echoed through my room I couldn't not look; so I created an illusion that my eyes were still closed while they in fact opened and I was horrified to see him sneak into my room.

He studied my room intently and then sat in the rocking chair that sat in the corner, watching me 'sleep'.

The raw feeling of violation ripped through me and I couldn't contain the low growl that rumbled in my chest as he continued to watch me sleep, a look of tranquillity relaxing his features.

He seemed to slip into the vampire equivalent of a day dream as his eyes glazed over and I briefly wondered what could possibly be going through his head as he sat in my rocking chair, in my bedroom uninvited.

While he seemed to be acquainting himself with my scent I was battling with my internal instincts to rip his throat out for intruding into my home.

I hadn't trusted him to begin with. I couldn't even put a definitive reason behind my mistrust, but now I could.

He was completely disregarding not only my safety, since I was to him a human, but my privacy. He was in my bedroom uninvited and watching me sleep, or at least pretend to.

A logical part of my mind told me this was a little hypocritical to be chastising him for such behaviour and the only real difference between us at the present moment was that my presence had been unknown, but I felt violated. He was in my home, and to his knowledge, here against my own.

In a way his treatment of me here and now made me consider my own past actions, such as watching Alice in her moments when she believed she was on her own. It was intrusive and disrespectful, towards her and I vowed then to not spy on her again.

But this reflection didn't solve the problem that if Edward became a regular guest in my room at night, I would be forced into staying here every night 'sleeping'.

...

Edward didn't leave until the sun began rising and as soon as he was out of my hearing range I leapt from my bed and locked my window. Maybe that would prevent any future break-ins, but something told me that with Edward, that would be unlikely.

At school that day I was confronted by Edward, who stepped out from behind my truck to try and assist me in stepping over various puddles on the tarmac. I dodged his extended hand and didn't bother smiling at him since I was still disgruntled about his being in my room the entire night. I had had plans for that evening and he had unintentionally ruined them by stalking me.

"Do you need something, Edward?" I asked him in a painfully polite voice. My upbringing refused to allow me to be deliberately rude to another and he smiled.

"Yes actually, I had overheard that a week from this Saturday that you were going to Seattle and I wondered if you wanted a ride?"

I skilfully kept my subtle glare from deepening, "No thank you, Edward, I am quite capable of making it to Seattle by myself."

"On one tank of gas?" He persisted and presented me with a half-crooked smile. One that, no doubt, made other human's swoon.

"Regardless, I do not wish for a ride." I repeated, knowing that it wouldn't actually make it, but I had been planning on parking it outside of Forks and continuing on foot.

His smile didn't falter, "But it will be a long trip, and lonely. Are you certain you wouldn't like any company?"

I let my glare show now, "If I told Alice no, what made you think I would accept your offer?"

I had lost my patience with being polite and turned him down bluntly and rudely; thinking perhaps he could take a hint.

Apparently not, "Because I assumed you were only using Seattle and that friend as an excuse to get away from her."

His smug attitude struck a chord with me and I restrained myself from hissing in contempt, "It's very pretentious to assume anything about me, Edward. I am not interested in having any company with me on my trip to Seattle." I couldn't even bring myself to thank him for his offer so I turned away, "Good day, Edward." And walked off, fuming at his conceited attitude.

...

For the rest of the day I was bombarded with the scent of fleshly dried blood and I couldn't understand what was happening.

Why were all these humans bleeding out simultaneously? Even if it were only in minimal amounts it was still fresh blood.

I may have exception control. I knew I did since I was able to handle being amongst my prey as thirsty as I was and resist the temptation, but fresh blood? Openly pouring blood was too much, not even I could control myself with my eyes as black as they are now.

It was a stressful day, what with Edward's presence early this morning and his presumptions, plus the constant strain of resisting the blood. Alice noticed that I wasn't myself in lunch and sort to figure it out, to which I behaved rudely towards her. The constant onslaught of the scents was demanding all my attention and I was short tempered and her persistence in discussing what was the cause to my mood didn't sit well with me.

...

As I walked into Biology last period the scent was more powerful and I concurred that it was in relation to whatever experiment we would be conducting today in class.

Edward was not in class and I suddenly realised why, after my initial sigh of relief. He knew blood would be spilt this period and he was avoiding temptation by ditching class.

As soon as I realised what was about to happen I knew I needed to get out, and a sure fire way to do so would be getting sent to the nurse.

I would prefer the humiliation over fainting over blood than the self-disgust at myself for displaying such weakness in killing the humans I had befriended. After the teacher noticed my pale face and woozy expression he asked someone aid me to the nurse, Mike volunteered instantly; supporting me out of the classroom and towards the nurse's office. But once we were out of sight I told him to let me rest and didn't really give him a chance to argue as I sat down and leaned against the wall, dimming my shield so my natural paleness became visible.

"Keep your hand in your pocket," I commanded; his fresh blood far too tempting as I fought to control myself.

Every instinct was telling me that I had him alone, that I could very easily quench this burning thirst in my throat by drinking him dry.

I had just regained control when the sound of Edward's footprints and his scent alerted me to his approach.

"Bella?" his voice called from a distance.

As he got closer another vampire instinct reared up, one very different to the prior but one I needed to fight regardless. The one to defend my prey from another predator.

I squeezed my eyes and tensed as the urge to snarl in warning grew stronger and more insistent.

"What's wrong – is she hurt?" He sounded upset.

"I think she's fainted. I don't know what happened; she didn't even prick her finger."

"Bella," Edward's voice was right beside me and my finger's twitched, desperately wanting to rip an appendage off, "Can you hear me?"

"No," I growled, though it sounded more like a groan, "Go away." Was all I could say in warning, one he didn't heed as he chuckled in amusement.

"I was taking her to the nurse," Mike explained defensively, "But she wouldn't go any further."

'_Because you're delicious blood and warmth was far too close for me to be able to resist the urge to rip your throat out any longer.'_

"I'll take her," Edward offered and as I heard the crinkle of his jacket I immediately stumbled to my feet.

"No thank you, I don't require your assistance." I hastily told him and he seemed surprised by my sudden recovery.

"Are you certain? You're still very pale. At least see the nurse." He insisted and I shook my head defiantly.

"I am fine."

"Please, I insist," and he reached out to hold my bicep; I snatched it away and backed up a few steps.

"Edward, I said no."

He blinked slowly, before inclining his head, "My apologies."

I continued to stare at him sternly and he understood, turning slowly and walking away.

"You alright, Bella? That Cullen guy gives me the heebie-jeebies." Mike asked in a concerned tone. He didn't make the same mistake as Edward by trying to touch me, instead keeping his distance.

"I think I will go home. If I return to the class I will simply be forced to leave again."

Mike nodded, a look of disappointment crossing his features, until they brightened, "Oh yeah, have you thought anymore about coming to La Push this weekend?"

"Yes, I have and I would like to come."

He grinned like he'd won a million dollars.

"Great, we're meeting at my parents store at 9. You know where that is right?"

I nodded, having memorised the landmarks and stores of Forks when I first arrived.

"Cool, guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

I nodded again and he waved goodbye as I walked to my truck.

...

My peace at home didn't last long, within five minutes of the time school would have finished a disgruntled pixie-sized vampire burst through my front door and confronted me on the stairs.

"You know, there is such a thing as knocking?" I joked.

"You seem to be in a better mood," She accused and crossed her arms over her chest.

I raised my eyebrows and stood my ground under the lethal glare she was giving me.

"Well, what was with you today at school? You were quite rude to me, not at all your polite and quiet self." Her voice had softened, but the accusation was still there.

Breaking eye contact I walked back up to my room with Alice following quietly.

"Well?" She repeated after I didn't answer. I sat on the bed while she sat in the rocking chair, and I immediately noticed the difference between how I felt about Edward sitting there, and Alice.

Where Edward had been an intruder, Alice was a guest.

Where Edward had stared at me while I was supposedly asleep, Alice's eyes failed to stay in one place as they darted about my room.

Where Edward made me uncomfortable and threatened, Alice made me feel safe and free to relax; something I rarely ever did.

"You've been really strange today, Bella," Alice's eyes were back on me, watching me study her. "You were short-tempered and dismissive at school, and now you're studying me with such a pensive expression I feel like I'm being judged for best dressed at some beauty pageant."

"Or cutest dog at a dog show." I teased and she poked her tongue out.

"I am not a dog!" She huffed and I laughed lightly,

"No, you're much cuter than a little puppy." I jeered and she pouted heavily.

"You didn't answer my question." She said after a long moment, "You do that a lot. Avoid my questions by hedging or changing the subject."

"Because I don't always have an answer to your questions." I responded lightly, but dishonestly.

"Please, Bella, you have an answer to everything, you just don't want to tell me. But I don't understand why."

I could feel that this topic was not going to stay light for long, but I couldn't stop it.

"Because there are things I don't wish to discuss."

She cocked an eyebrow, "Like what? Things about yourself? Your past? You never speak of anything personal, at all. The most personal information I've ever gotten from you is from my own observations, and that your parents are dead."

My jaw tightened as I reigned in my frustration and anger, "I don't like talking about myself." Was all I said, and my voice held a warning she didn't heed.

"Oh come on, Bella we've been friends for two months! You're telling me you don't trust me enough to even tell me your simplest thoughts? I thought we were friends, but you're keeping more secrets from me than an FBI agent undercover. Don't you trust me?"

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" I retorted hotly, "For as much information I'm keeping from you, you're keeping equal from me.

"Don't think I haven't noticed certain things about you, Alice, things that don't add up: because I have, but you know the difference between us? I respect your desire for privacy. I respect the fact that you don't wish to disclose some information about yourself to me."

"Because you already know what I'm hiding!" She exclaimed heatedly and threw her arms in the air, "That's the only explanation I can think of as to why you don't ask me about it. You already know exactly what I'm not telling you, because there is no way anyone else, as observation and insightful as you, could possibly have spent so much time with me and not noticed, and not questioned unless they already knew! I don't know how you could know, but you do.

"So don't play the 'tit-for-tat' card, because you're the only one keeping secrets here." Her breathing was exerted and she was pointing an accusing finger at me, her topaz eyes having darkened to dark amber.

It was lucky my eyes were already black from thirst, because right now, with my temper flaring as it was, they would be blacker than the night.

"Yes, you are correct in that, I am keeping secrets from you and you can either accept this, or..." I trailed of suggestively and she narrowed her eyes, "Or what? We can stop this friendship?"

"Yes," I answered harsher than I felt and she blanched, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in horrified surprise. Whatever she had expected me to say, it hadn't been that. In fact, I was a little surprised by my words. When had this become an ultimatum? When had our simple jesting, teasing and joking turned into a full-blown argument?

How had it come to this so suddenly? Everything had disintegrated so rapidly that even my vampiric brain struggled to keep up with it.

"You're not serious?" She whispered into the silence of the room.

"Deadly serious, Alice. I have secrets, yes, and I keep them to myself. You can accept this, that there will be things I will continue to keep from you, or you can stop this... this friendship."

Tears formed in her eyes, but couldn't fall. Her expression was heartbreaking and I felt like someone had hit me in the stomach with a sledgehammer.

"So you don't trust me?" Her voice was weak, small and desperate.

"This isn't a matter of trust." I replied stoically and she swallowed strongly.

We stared at each other, judging the seriousness of the other and eventually she blinked, and broke eye contact.

"I think I'd better go." She eventually said and I had her decision.

Blinking slowly I tried to ignore the tremor of pain rocking through me. If my heart could break, it would have been breaking now as she picked up her bag and left the room quickly.

I couldn't understand why I felt like a part of me had ripped away when the door slammed, I couldn't understand why there was such intense guilt and sorrow flooding my system now.

Though that guilt and sorrow soon turned to anger, anger at myself, at Alice, at _him_. I screamed out my fury, screamed it to the heavens and tore my room apart. Books thrown around, pillows torn and I even flipped my bed as I sort a way to express the anguish I felt. Never had I wanted to be able to cry so much, never had I loathed what I was. I had accepted my immortality long ago; I had accepted the cards Fate handed to me, but now.

Now I hated it with vengeance.

I knew why I needed to keep my identity hidden; I knew the risks and danger I was in.

The danger that pursued me.

So to protect Alice, and myself, I kept this charade. I kept playing the human to keep her oblivious, to keep her in the dark because the moment _he_ began his routinely sweep of the world, questioning every vampire about me, my cover would be blown, and Alice would surely be caught in the crossfire.

Deciding tearing my room apart wasn't satisfying enough I smashed through the window and ran into the woods surrounding my house.

I ran all night.

I ran to distract myself; which failed.

I ran to flee my demons; which failed.

I ran because it was the only time I felt free; tonight, I felt trapped.

I felt confined by this yearning to apologise to Alice. I felt trapped by the raw emotions she brought up in me. I felt imprisoned by everything that was Alice, her smile, her laugh, her ballet movements, her eyes when they sparkled in mirth and glee.

Tonight, running didn't solve anything other than to pass the night away.

...

When I eventually arrived back in my room, through the hole I had created in the wall the sun had risen and it was time to return to school.

I passed the mirror and cringed at the reflection. I was a mess. My hair was wild, twigs, leaves and dirt had tangled themselves in. My clothes were torn, entire patches missing and I was forced to discard the outfit entirely.

But the scariest thing about the reflection, my reflection, was my wild, crimson eyes. I had feed last night, so much so that my eyes had returned to their glowing red and I had no idea how to cover this one up.

The Cullen's would not miss this significant change, so I decided perhaps it would be safest to skip school today.

Because, for whatever reason, my shield couldn't change the appearance of my eyes. Since my eyes were the signifier to my weakness: When they faded to grey, then white, it meant my energy or storage or whatever it was that powered my shield, was empty and therefore I was defenceless. I couldn't even protect my mind when my eyes turned entirely grey, and when they reached white, then even the most basics of vampire powers, such as our strength and speed, were gone.

I would be reduced to being weaker than even a human if my eyes were to turn white.

Of course, I had yet to actually experience white eyes, there had been a few times they'd become grey but never white. I never risked it.

So without the ability to hide my eye colour I was put in a precarious situation. I could not go to school and risk the Cullen's discovering my true identity, but I wanted to go to apologise to Alice. If I were to skip, she would immediately conclude I was angry enough to avoid her.

I was still angry, but more so at myself for losing my temper with her. I created a mountain out of a mole hill and severely overreacted to her inquisition. I had been stressed by Edward and taken it out on Alice unfairly.

But I couldn't go today if I wanted to keep my secret, well, secret. Sighing I called up school to inform them of my absence.

...

Now that I had somewhat calmed down, I noticed the catastrophe that was my bedroom. Paper covered every inch of the floor, my bed was pressed against the opposite wall to which I faced, my bookshelf was leaning through a hole and the wind was blowing through the hole in the wall that had once been my window. At least I would have something to preoccupy my mind while I waited for this day to end.

Because I wanted to pass the time as fast as possible I cleaned and repaired my room at a human pace, except for when I had to run down to the local hardware store to purchase a new window, and several planks of wood and paint. When in the store I had simply worn glasses to hide my crimson eyes; it was what I would do tomorrow, when I went down to La Push with the other humans. Hopefully I wouldn't look too conspicuous, since sunshine was rare in Forks.

Even moving at human speed I was done by about 12 and had run out of things to do so I lay back on my bed and closed my eyes. My stomach was still taut, twisted and bringing tears to my eyes.

Tears that could not fall.

This was all figurative, in my mind, but it didn't stop these intense sensations feel any less real.

In all my life, my existence, I had never felt this way.

Had never felt an attraction, a pull to another being.

But as I registered the pain, as I accepted the hurt I was in, I realised that my friendship with Alice had begun to grow, for me at least, into something more. I may not have had many friends, but now I did.

I had human friends who I spent my time in school and class with and the emotions and thoughts I held towards them were vastly different to what I felt for Alice.

I hadn't really noticed when my feelings of friendship, comfort and genuine caring for her turned and grew into something more. I wasn't even sure how it was different; I didn't know what more I wanted. But I did know I wanted more. I wanted more but I didn't know how to get it.

The most confusing and frustrating thing about this was I had no one really to talk with.

Alice had always been the one I spoke with when there was something beyond my comprehension, when something happened and I didn't understand it.

She had been that person I confined in, well not entirely confined in and that was what had led to our fight. I hadn't been willing to tell her about the most important parts of my life and it had created a strain in our relationship that went by unnoticed until it exploded in our faces after one little prod.

I sighed into the silence of my room. Replays of our fight repeated in my mind over and over again.

I couldn't get past the look of dejection and hurt Alice wore before she left my room. There hadn't been a trace of the bubbly, hyperactive girl I had come to know.

I rolled over and clutched my head, groaning as pictures of her topaz eyes filled and her bottom lip quivered.

Unable to handle it anymore I leapt from my bed and raced from the house, using the door this time. And although running did nothing for the pain in my heart, it soothed and slowed the repeating images that taunted me as I concentrated solely on weaving through the thick overgrowth.

...

I ran until the sun rose again and returned in time to my house to get changed and meet with Mike and Angela and the rest at Mike's store.

"Hey, Bella where were you yesterday?" Angela asked as soon as I hopped out of my truck, shades resting on my nose.

"Uh, I wasn't feeling well so I stayed home sick." I lied easily and Angela watched me carefully.

"So you're feeling better now?"

I nodded, "Yeah, couldn't miss out on going to see La Push."

She laughed and climbed into Mike's Suburban with me.

"You haven't been down there yet?" Mike asked as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"No, haven't had the chance," I answered and watched the green scenery pass by.

"You'll love it," He told me and I nodded, feeling no need to respond verbally.

...

He had been right in his assumption however, as I stepped out and gazed over the beach, the dark grey water, soft border of sand at the water's edge and the multi-coloured rocks.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Angela remarked, coming up behind me to stand by my side.

"Yes, it's quite spectacular." I agreed and we walked together, following Mikes lead as he picked his way to a ring of driftwood logs.

"Hey, Bella have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" Mike called over and we turned towards him.

"No, I haven't."

He placed a few twigs onto the black ashes in the middle of the circle of longs, and he and the other boys started a fire.

When the driftwood caught fire the flames turned blue.

"It's blue," I whispered softly in amazement, Mike smiled enthusiastically.

"It's the salt that does it." He added a few more logs before sitting beside me.

Angela sat on my other side and Jessica on his. I was thankful when she monopolized his attention so I was free to stare at the flickering flames.

"Bella, are you alright?" Angela asked quietly as we watched the flames dance about.

"Uh, yes I'm fine." I answered after a brief pause.

She smiled weakly, "I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. You've been quiet all day, and just now, you hesitated. You rarely hesitate in your responses."

"And people say I'm perceptive." I muttered before sighing, "Alice and I had a fight."

I saw her eyebrow rise, "That might explain why she seemed so down at school yesterday. May I ask how serious was this fight?"

I bowed my head and studied my intertwined fingers. "I think it may have cost us our friendship."

Angela inhaled sharply, "Oh, I'm sorry. That must have been why Alice seemed so depressed. She didn't sit with us and was just really gloomy. I've never seen her so... sad."

I swallowed the guilt her words created in me and turned my face away.

"Are you sure that you two can't move past this? I mean you were so close."

I bit my lip, "Only on the surface."

She frowned, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"We fought over the fact that I don't tell her anything. I don't talk to her about myself."

Angela nodded in understanding, "You don't talk about yourself period. I'm surprised she didn't notice that..."

I gave a hollow, humourless laugh, "Oh, she certainly noticed. And for a while she accepted that, but I guess the irritation just built up. She wanted to feel as though I trusted her, and when I... keep secrets she doesn't think I trust her."

"So do you trust her?" Angela asked the exact question I had been asking myself repeatedly.

"It's not a matter of trust," Giving her the same one I had given Alice.

"It's always about trust, Bella. Regardless of what the secret is, regardless of what you're keeping hidden, it always buckles down to trust. Do you trust Alice enough that you think she could keep your little secret?"

I grinded my teeth together, "I don't know." I admitted, "I honestly don't know."

Angela nodded and sensed my reluctance to carry this conversation on for any longer so we enjoyed the silence between us, listening to the crackling of the fire and the general chatter of the rest of our group.

...

We split off into two groups, the ones who were content in staying around the fire and the others, Angela, Mike and myself included, went for a hike.

It wasn't long, but the change in scenery was pleasant enough, and easy chatter fell between Angela and I. Even though the sun would be beginning to set in an hour or two, I kept my glasses on.

Very much aware of my crimson irises.

When we finally made it back to the others an offensive scent assaulted my senses and I cringed.

It was worse than wet dog, but more than the disgusting scent my instincts demanded me to react defensively. Whatever this smell was it was triggering my self-defence and I scanned the beach for the owner.

There were dozens of tall, copper skinned, dark-haired teenagers. Four of which I identified as the owners to this repulsive scent.

They were not human as they all looked up and shared equal glares as they met my shaded gaze. One boy even began trembling violently until the eldest whispered in his ear, "Paul, calm down."

"She's a bloodsucker! On our territory, how am I supposed to remain calm when there's a leech on our land?" He hissed back and I kept my expression neutral.

So these non-humans had identified me as a vampire, was it my scent? Could they tell I wasn't human by my scent, as I had identified them as non-human by theirs?

It was a mistake I wouldn't make again.

"If she is one, it's apparent these other humans don't know and none of them seemed bothered by her presence. She could very well be like the Cullen's." The eldest I deemed to be the leader as he held authority.

"But, Sam you can smell her as much as I can!" The one named Paul whined and his trembling increased.

"But I can also hear a heartbeat and she isn't exactly sparkling." Sam retorted, his eyes fixated on me and Paul's head whipped round as well.

"Wait, a heartbeat? You can't be serious?"

"Listen and you'll hear it as well." Sam commanded and Paul glared at me.

We had reached the group now and I sat down with Angela on an unoccupied log. Eric introduced us to the locals and I saw Sam and Paul still starring at me.

"So, Bella you're new in town? How is Forks treating you?" One boy asked me and I recalled his name to be Jacob.

"Yes I am new, I moved from Arizona so Forks is defiantly a change from sunny Phoenix."

Jacob smiled and laughed slightly.

We chattered lightly, all the while Sam was glaring at me and Paul was alternating between glaring and trembling.

Jacob seemed nice enough, but I could sense his underlining attraction to me and I resisted any of his more flirtatious comments or advances.

At one point Lauren saw us speaking and spoke loudly, "It's really too bad none of the Cullen's could make it don't you think, Bella? Didn't anyone think to invite them?"

Sam narrowed his eyes at their name, "Are you referring to Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?"

Lauren gave him an irritated glare, "Yes, why, do you know him?"

"The Cullen's don't come here." His tone closing the subject and my curiosity was sparked.

If these non-humans knew the Cullen's were vampires, then why were they not allowed on their land?

Intrigued I sort to discover this mystery and the flirtatious boy beside me would be my answer.

"Would you like to take a walk?" I asked him lowering my voice to a sultry tone. One commonly used to entice my prey. It was perhaps a little bit overkill, but effective nonetheless.

He nodded quickly and bounced to his feet eagerly.

As we walked along multihued stones that adorned La Push beach the sun became obscured by clouds and I felt the temperature drop, regardless of my already cool skin.

"So who was that boy Lauren spoke with?" I asked innocently and he frowned.

"That's Sam, he's nineteen,"

"You don't like him?" I asked after his tone had soured.

"Not really, he's got a whole hero worship thing going on with the town. But he just totally gives me the creeps."

I was about to question him further when the sounds of footsteps, about four.

"Jacob." Sam spoke sternly and Jacob looked up as I turned to see Sam, Paul and two other's I didn't recognise. All of them worn identical expressions of disgust and hatred towards me.

"Sam," Jacob stood and eyed him, nonplussed that he was outnumbered.

"I think you should return to the campfire." He suggested, but it was more of a command. Jacob heard this and straightened,

"I'm fine where I am. Bella and I were enjoying some alone time."

Sam eyed me, his eyes attempting to penetrate the darkness of my glasses.

"I can see that, and I would like some... alone time with Bella now."

Jacob crossed his arms defiantly, "Whatever you have to say to her, you can say in front of me."

Sam raised his eyebrows at his tone, and I sought to defuse the situation. There was too much testosterone in one place for a fight not to break out soon.

"Jacob, it is fine. I would like to speak with Sam as well." When he stared at me in shocked disbelieve but didn't move I gestured to Sam, "Would you like to take a walk instead, Sam?"

He nodded and the other boys stayed behind, though Paul did so reluctantly.

When we were beyond eyesight of the human Sam turned on me, pinning me to a large tree bordering the beach.

"I know you're not human, Bella Swan and since all you're human friends seem unafraid and calm around you I'm going to give you the chance to explain your presence here."

I sighed, "I don't know what you are talking about, Sam."

He growled deep in his throat, "Don't play games with me, _leech._ You may have a heartbeat but you smell exactly the same as those Cullen's. So what are you doing on our land?"

"I did not know this land was restricted."

He frowned, "The Cullen's did not tell you?"

"They don't know I'm one of them." I answered truthfully.

"How could they not know?" He asked incredulously.

"My heartbeat throws them off." Was all I said in answer.

In a quicker motion than I expected he ripped my glasses from my face, "You feed from humans?" he exclaimed in shock and trembled.

"What else would I feed from?"

He gave me a surprised look, "You are not friends with them?"

I knew by _them_ he meant the Cullen's.

"I am to a degree, but I prefer to not share secrets. They believe I am human, therefore have not told me that they are not."

"But surely you have noticed that their eyes are different,"

"Yes, but I have not discovered the cause of that."

He nodded, understanding relaxing his features, though the trembling did not stop, "They feed from animals. It is why we have allowed them to reside in this area, but since you do not..." He trailed off menacingly.

"You would not be fool enough to harm me when I have a group of human awaiting my return. And you were the last one to have been seen with me alive."

He growled again, "You have been warned, leech cross the boundary line again and we won't be so resilient. It is disappointing for us that we cannot cross onto the Cullen's territory; otherwise we would kill you tonight."

"No, Sam you would attempt to kill me. But I recognize the warning and will not return to your land again."

He nodded and stepped away.

"My glasses, please." I asked and held my hand out. He frowned before giving them back and we walked back in silence.

When we arrived back Jacob was shooting daggers at Sam and the rest of my group was packing up and loading themselves in the van.

It seemed this trip to La Push had been far more educational than I had expected, I had learnt of the reason for the Cullen's eyes and that there were more supernatural beings in Forks than just vampires.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

As a hundred-year-old vampire one would think common sense and patience would be as natural as the ability to run faster than the human eye.

One would think a hundred-year-old vampire would be familiar with meeting new friends and losing friends.

One would think a hundred-year-old vampire wouldn't be broken by a simple fight between friends.

Well one would think a lot of things about a hundred-year-old vampire and I would contradict a lot of those thoughts.

I had messed up badly. I had pushed and pushed until she snapped and basically told me to get out of her life.

Okay, that's perhaps a little overdramatic, but she did give me the ultimatum that if I didn't accept that she would continue to refuse to tell me things it would end. So the choice was mine to make...

I had hoped to apologise to her on Friday but when her red truck failed to rumble into the parking lot I was gravely disheartened. It was apparent that I had offended her far greater than I first thought, to the extent that she skipped school to avoid me. And I knew that on Saturday she would be going to La Push, the one place I could not go because of that blasted treaty we had with the Quileute tribe.

So that was why on Sunday morning I was sitting in my room contemplating on whether or not I should call, or stop by. Perhaps she just wanted space, or time to think, or... I began thinking in circles and groaned pitifully, grateful that Edward had taken an early hunting trip and wouldn't be back until late tonight.

"Alice," I looked towards my door to see Rosalie standing in the threshold, arms crossed and staring intently at me, with a familiar scowl.

"Rosalie." I greeted and nodded, gesturing for her to enter. She did so gracefully, head high and watching me carefully.

"You've been down all weekend. What seems to be the problem?"

I swallowed, "I had a fight with Bella."

"Oh, really? I never would have guessed." She said sarcastically, "I knew that already, but what are you going to do about it other than mop around the house?"

"Oh gee, thanks so much for your support," I muttered darkly and she raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't the mere fact that I am sitting here telling you that I'm supporting you?"

"You could lose some of the attitude," I replied, still muttering. Rosalie snorted,

"Alice, how long have we lived together? I would've thought you'd know me by now. But regardless, what happened between you and Bella? Last I knew you were close."

"Like I said we had a fight, over the fact that she never tells me anything."

"Ah, but, Alice, you never tell her anything either."

I stood from the bed angrily, "I know, she said the exact same thing. But that's not the point!"

"Then what is, Alice? I think it's highly unfair of you to expect complete honesty from her and yet you have your own skeletons."

"Yes but that's another thing, I'm pretty certain she knows, about us that is."

Rosalie looked at me in surprise, blinking rapidly. "How is that possible?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, but it's the only thing that really makes sense. I mean, someone as intuitive and perceptive as she is can't possibly have missed all my inhuman moments. Or the fact I never eat or drink around her. It's the only possible explanation I can think of!"

Rosalie shook her head, "Or you're simply jumping to conclusions in some vain hope to justify your insatiable curiosity about Bella."

I glared at her and she shrugged, "I'm just telling you like I see it."

I sighed before sitting back down, "Do I go apologise, or let her cool off?"

"Knowing Bella, and what I've seen of her temper I'd suggest you let her cool off a bit before talking to her. Wait for school on Monday."

"And if she doesn't show up?"

"Then I'll drop you off so you can harass her in her house."

Nodding I could see her logic; as much as it pained me not to see her today it made sense. Bella did have a temper, I'd only seen it twice now but when she got fired up she was someone to be reckoned with.

Plus, I wanted her clear headed when I spoke with her next.

But there was something niggling at me, something telling me to speak with her today. And when I figured out what it was I immediately leapt to my feet.

My entire week had become clear to me.

As in, I could see my future for the first time in months and it could only mean one thing. Bella wasn't going to be at school or in her house when I went to see her on Monday.

"No," I cried and Rosalie looked at me like I was nuts, "I just got an entire week of visions!" I explained and the look of confusion didn't clear.

"I can't see any future involving Bella, so I haven't had any real visions involving myself since I became her friend. If I can now see my future, it means Bella's not involved in it at all." Understanding widened her eyes.

"Well then, I guess you'd better go see her now!"

I didn't need telling twice as I sprinted from the house and leapt into my Porsche, gunning the engine full throttle all the way to Bella's house.

When I arrived it was silent. No movement, no heartbeat, no sound at all and I rushed from my car and began knocking frantically on the front door. After five minutes of no response I tried the handle and it was locked. She wasn't home.

Cursing I rushed around the back and tried her backdoor, again it was locked. In fact every window and door was locked, so if I wanted entry I would have to break in.

Deciding that the least obvious place to break in and be noticed would be her room window so I scaled up the side of her house and forced the window up, snapping the feeble lock and agilely slipping into her bedroom. It was empty and immaculately tidy. Every book stack neatly, not a single item of clothing on the floor, the bed flawlessly made without a single wrinkle, her bedside table bare except for an alarm clock and lamp. Everything that had been here Thursday, the discarded clothes, homework and papers scattered about the floor; everything that would be expected to be present, when someone lived here, was tidied away. It was as though no one was living here.

Bella was obviously gone and the only thing that lingered was her scent, but that was also fading, becoming stale with the air it floated in.

She had gone and failed to tell me where.

But then, we had fought and our last words exchanged had had the underlining meaning of 'stop questioning me or stop our friendship' and I had simply left. That no doubt must have told Bella that I wanted to stop the friendship... but she didn't strike me as the kind to run away from something like this. She didn't strike me as the kind to run away period. She was strong, self-assured and confident in her abilities... even her lack of coordination in most things physical never really stopped her from... getting physical.

But the fact was that she _was_ gone and the last words we had exchanged were in anger.

Regret so profound, so powerful crashed through me and I collapsed to my knees. I had basically told her I could not stand to be her friend if she did not tell me things, and while that was understandable, was reasonable - A common reason for romantic relationships to end - it did not mean I would have continued to keep away. I had only wanted to make a point, make her see that any working relationship needs honesty and trust.

...

I was still studying her empty room when I noticed a change in texture in the paint on the wall beside her bookcase, and then I saw the difference in the window I had just climbed through. Peering closer I remembered what her window had been like when I had visited so often, when I had been here Thursday evening even. It had been cream white, the paint chipping and peeling away. This window was wooden, the glass shining and not a speck of paint adorning its frame.

It was an entirely different window and frame to the one on Thursday.

_But why? Had the other one been damaged? What could possibly have happened that required an entire replacement of the window?_

I shifted my attention to the wall behind the bookcase and easily lifted it away from the wall it hid. As I suspected the texture of the wall in a rather large area was different to the rest of the wall. The paint strokes were different, and fresher.

_What happened here that could have caused a broken window and hole in the wall?_

I didn't know and I had no idea on how to find out since Bella had, for all appearances, done a runner. Sighing I sunk down onto her bed, the springs giving way to my weight.

I closed my eyes and searched my future, for the first time trying to find something that wasn't there. A blank spot, but there was always something, be it images of myself in a classroom, sitting at a lunch table with humans, in my bedroom sorting through my large collection of clothing. For the first time I wanted to see _nothing_, because nothing meant Bella; as strange and nonsensical as that sounded, it was the truth.

I lay back and kept my eyes closed as I allowed time to pass. A useful thing to immortality is that one could stay in the same position without discomfort, or the need to shift and fidget. I could lie here for the rest of eternity and not be bothered, except perhaps by the thirst that burned in my throat.

...

"I should hope you don't lie there forever, what would Bella think? Coming home to find some pixie on her bed, immobile and, for all appearances, dead."

I sat up to see Edward straddling the window ledge, watching me with an expression I couldn't quite place.

"So where is Bella?" His bright eyes flicked around the room, absorbing the order of it.

I shrugged, "I don't actually know. We had a fight on Thursday, she didn't show up Friday and I didn't see her yesterday."

He pursed his lips in deep thought, "And you think she left because you two had a little fight? Seems a little childish of her if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you and you're well aware what my thoughts are." I snapped, his gift had never been so irritating as it was right now.

He chuckled, and then ran his fingers over the frame of the window he still sat on.

"This is a different window," He commented and leant closer, "It's entirely different."

I watched him inspect it, narrating his thoughts as he did so.

"I know." I spoke quietly, deciding perhaps instead of viewing Edward as competition for Bella's attention we could work together here to solve this peculiar mystery.

"Competition?" He snorted in a mixture of amusement and disgust, "How could you be any competition for her affections? You're a female Alice, and Bella is a respectable girl."

My fingers curled into tight fists, "This is the 21st century Edward. Times have changed and -"

"And what? You honestly thing Bella would be interested in a liaison with you? She sees you as nothing more than a friend -"

"How would you know Edward? You can't read her." I interrupted him in retaliation each word that comes from his mouth enraging me further.

His smirk turned mocking, "I don't need to read her mind to be able to read her body language."

"You're out of practice then Edward; you rely too heavily on your gift to think Bella is interested in you anymore than she's interested in me. At least she engages in civil conversation with me and I'm not forced to breaking into her house to see her sleep. We were going to have a sleep over on Friday, no stalking required for me to be able to watch her sleep." Not that I would actually do that, it was slightly on the creepy side to watch someone when they were completely oblivious to it.

Edward scowled and slid out the window without a 'goodbye' and I sat back down; more disturbed than I wanted to admit by the insecurities Edward had just presented me with.

_What if Bella wasn't... interested in me in that way? What if she saw me a nothing more than a close friend?_

I had finally admitted to myself that I was feeling things for Bella that pushed the defining lines between friendship and else.  
_Was I attracted to her?_ Sure she was extremely fun and exciting to be with, her smile lit up the room and her laughter sent tingles down my spine. It was true I had never felt this way towards anyone, so I didn't have a baseline to compare the feelings of attraction with.

All I did know for sure was that I _wanted_ to be around Bella. I loved spending time with her, making her smile and laugh. I loved play fighting with her, even when it resulting in my needing to spend 6 hours soaking my hair to get rid of whatever substance had been thrown in it. Such as paint.

I loved just talking with her, learning things about her. Such as her fondness for the classics, or her insatiable desire to learn; I had not seen her happier or more fascinated than when she came across information that she had not previously known and that reminded me a lot like Carlisle. In his 300 years of existence there wasn't much he didn't know by now and so whenever new information presented itself he got a glint in his eyes that lit of his entire being. Information was his passion and so as a result he spent hours in his study discovering things.

...

I wandered back into the house, dejected.

Esme was in the kitchen when I entered, "Oh, Alice I didn't expect you back so soon." She poked her head around the corner and gave me a bright smile.

What she was doing in the kitchen I had no idea, but it smelt as though she were cooking.

"Esme, are you cooking?"

She beamed, "Yes, yes I am. I thought I might prepare myself for Bella coming on Friday. I mean she will want to eat during the movie marathon you have planned, and I figured it would be wisest to actually know what I'm doing when I prepare her meals."

I had actually forgotten Bella would need to eat, I never really paid attention to human feeding times, but now that I thought about it they needed to eat regularly; I often heard the human males at school complain that they were hungry and wished for a large meal, or more breaks.

I had only really seen Bella eat once, in Seattle, in the mall at lunch. She had eaten a small meal and seemed content from that, so perhaps females required less food than males.

I dropped my head, "That won't be necessary, Esme, she isn't coming."

She put down the kitchen utensil in her hand and stepped towards me, "Oh, why not?"

I swallowed, "She's gone."

A look of deep concern was on her face when I finally lifted my head since she hadn't responded.

"Oh, do you know where or when she'll be back?"

I shook my head, "We had a fight, as you know and when I went over just now, she wasn't home and her house had been cleaned to pristine condition, as you do to every house we move out of."

"Oh honey I'm terribly sorry, I know how much you liked her."

I lifted the corner of my lips in a half-arsed attempt at smiling.

...

"What is that horrible smell?" Rosalie complained as she wandered in, a look of distaste twisting her perfect features.

"Food," Esme answered and turned to pack away the ingredients.

"I figured Bella would need something to eat this Friday, so I decided to teach myself to cook but since she isn't in Forks any longer, I guess I've no need to anymore."

Rosalie looked at me, "She wasn't home?"

I shook my head, "No, the house was empty."

She pursed her lips and walked towards the piano. Next to Edward, she was the best musician in the house and spent the most time behind it.

I didn't feel in the mood to listen to any music so I walked up to my room, head bowed and sadness threatening to cripple me as thoughts of Edward and Bella circled my mind.

Edward believed he loved Bella, he thought that because she was so incredibly appealing in scent and her thoughts secret that she was meant to be with him.

She was made for him and he would continue to pursue her until he got what he desired.

I didn't think that Bella would be so easily fooled into being taken in by Edward's charms, because he could be incredibly charming at times, but I myself worried that once Edward stopped behaving like a bi-polar psychopath, she may become attracted to him. He could be caring, protective and loving... when he wasn't using his gift to manipulate us.

I sighed again, I seemed to be doing that a lot of late and I lay on my bed, and imagined what it was like to sleep, to dream.

...

"Hey, Alice where's Bella?" Angela asked me as she crossed the car park, moving gracefully for a human.

"I don't actually know." She looked surprised and readjusted her books.

"Oh, well I guess that means you two haven't spoken since Thursday?" She gave me a sheepish look before averting her eyes.

"She told you we had a fight?" this surprised me, since it was rare for Bella to mention things like that. I usually had to force insignificant details from her.

Again that sheepish look appeared on her face and she bit her bottom lip momentarily, "Uh well only after I asked flat out what the matter was. She was a little bit gloomy on Saturday."

"Oh, really?" This was a pleasant surprise, since it meant that she must have been as upset by our fight as I was.

She nodded, lip back between her teeth, "Yeah, she wore these insanely dark glasses all day, like she was trying to hide her eyes. My guess is they were a little red from crying, but with Bella you can never tell."

"She wore glasses, in Forks? When is it ever sunny enough to bother with glasses?"

Angela shrugged, "That's why I figured she was hiding her eyes behind them."

She proceeded to discuss the events of Saturday, leading up until Bella went for a walk with one local, and returned with another.

"What?" I asked as an uncomfortable, slightly nauseas feeling stirred in my gut. Well, in my mind at least, as my body no longer had the capability to feel nausea, or get nauseated.

"Oh yeah, she invited one guy, Jacob I think his name was, and then four other boys followed them soon after. They were gone for an hour or two maybe and they all returned together. To say I worried about that is an understatement, but she _seemed_ fine so I didn't ask."

"She wandered off with one boy she'd only just met, and returned with five boys all of whom she didn't know?" That nauseated feeling was increasing as I could accurately imagine what a stomach flip felt like. Angela nodded, "But she seemed fine. Maybe a little quieter and more thoughtful but other than that..." She trailed off as she absorbed the murderous look that now adorned my face.

"Only, you couldn't see her eyes, and we both know how skilled Bella is at hiding her thoughts and feeling, except through her eyes." I was fuming at the conclusions my mind was jumping too. It was an entirely inappropriate situation for any teenage girl to get involved in; especially for a girl as gravitating as Bella. "And none of you thought to perhaps react? To get up and look for her?"

Angela shook her head, regret and shame plastered everywhere on her features and I saw tears beginning to form.

"No, I mean I knew she was gone but no one else really noticed and I guess I thought I was over-reacting to think she could have been in trouble. I didn't really think at all." She admitted shamefully and her voice broke slightly.

"Do you think they could have said anything to make Bella leave?" It was a stretch but I was looking for any valid reason why Bella would just leave so suddenly.

"I wouldn't think so, although Sam and one of his friends were totally glaring at Bella, like actually kind of shaking in anger. It was a little off putting, but I don't think he would have hurt her."

So the La Push locals had something against Bella, and although I couldn't physically go on their land without breaking the treaty I could hang around the boundary line and see if I can hopefully speak with them on the off chance that they see me loitering.

I wanted to find out more but the bell rang and we were forced to attend our first periods. My thoughts were disturbing as I sat down in Physics, ignoring the teachers droning as he started the lecture.

I twirled my pen around my fingers, pretended to listen and stared out the window, wondering where Bella was and what she was doing.

She was the only thing on my mind all day and I didn't mind a single bit. She was fascinating, fun and I missed her.

The day dragged by without her to entertain my lunch time, though the humans, Angela, Mike and Jessica were average company and did manage to provide a small distraction, but there was not as much laughter, and Art was a bore.

Who would have thought one person could have so much effect on us, on me? It was like there was something missing, some element only she could provide and the laughter was heavier, more forced and less fun without her bright smile lighting up the room.

Or perhaps that was just me.

It was probably just me.

It was just me as I watched the others laughing, joking and teasing each other playfully. Although they had all asked where she was they had quickly changed subjects so I simply lapsed into silence, speaking few words.

Finally, finally after an age, the final bell rang and I was released from school. It had never been so tedious, so painfully boring as it was today as I rushed from school and hoped in the car to wait for my family. I couldn't very well disappear into the trees.

As soon as Edward had pulled the car to a stop I was out the car door, running towards the treaty boundary line and I spent most of the evening running up and down it, hoping for something.

...

Something came around midnight. That something was four horse-sized wolves moving in formation.

I froze in horrified terror, I'd never seen wolves that size before and I couldn't believe werewolves were still here. Carlisle had told me they died out half a century ago.

They stopped metres from the line, all growling simultaneously until one backed away into the shadows of the trees and a giant of a boy returned wearing only a pair of ragged shorts.

He eyed me angrily as he returned and stood in front of his fellow wolves.

"What are you doing this close to the border, leech?" He stance was defensive and cocky, feeling secured that he outnumbered me.

"I want to know about what you said to Bella Swan on Saturday."

Whatever he had expected me to say, it wasn't that as his eyes widened in visible surprise before narrowing and that smug, arrogant smirk returned.

"And why would I tell you anything about our interaction Saturday?"

I swallowed back the venom that had built up in response to the disgusting smell these wolves carried.

"Because I want to know what you said to her to make her leave."

"She left?" A strange gurgling sound erupted from the dogs behind him and I thought perhaps it was laughter. "Guess she wasn't as tough as she tried to appear."

I pounced on that, "So you did threaten her? Why would you threaten a helpless girl?"

He snorted, "She seriously didn't tell you? You honestly don't know who Bella Swan really is?" His eyebrows rose in surprise and I saw the wolves exchange looks. Doggish looks, with expressions I couldn't possibly interpret... because they were dogs.

"What are you talking about?" Patience was not my thing and these mutts were testing it.

"I can't believe she was telling the truth when she said you didn't know." He laughed and that strange gurgling sound was heard again as the dogs joined in.

"Tell me already!" I exclaimed and threw my arms in the air.

The boys' eyes narrowed, "Why should I tell you anything, _bloodsucker?_"

"Because you had better have a goddamned good explanation for scaring away a harmless human."

Again he snorted, "That girl is not harmless, nor even human. I'm surprised you don't recognise one of you own."

"Uh, _what?"_ I was sure I had misheard him, because he could not honestly have just told me that Bella Swan, the clumsy, helpless human was a vampire.

"You heard me, leech. That girl is a bloodsucking leech and she came onto our land. She's only still alive because there were witnesses." His tone turned hateful and nearly regretful; as though he were disappointed he didn't get to rip Bella to shreds.

"B-Bella's a vampire?" I stuttered. I actually stuttered.

That was a signifier to my severe shock. I _never_ stuttered. _Never._ Except maybe once when Bella caught me off guard that time she questioned my sanity when I told her she smelt delicious.

The tall copper skinned boy smirked again, "Yes that blushing girl is as much a vampire as you are."

"H-how do you know?"

"She smelt as bad as you do."

I was still frozen in shock. This explained so much and left me with so much more questions at the same time. The moments when she was a little too graceful, a little too fluid in her movements, how she didn't know what movies were, when she seemed to know so much and so little at the same time. But if she's a vampire, why would she hide this from me.

"Is that all, leech?"

I had actually forgotten he was still standing there so I nodded numbly and turned to return home. Except I couldn't go home, not with this incredible discovery. Bella obviously had a reason why she played human, why she failed to mention she was as immortal and invulnerable as I was. And whatever this reason was it was important enough to have it come between us, and actually flee.

Her disappearance made a little more sense now, her behaviour and everything, now put into perspective, made sense. Whatever she was hiding, or running from required that no one know she was a vampire and so she had tried to stay distant.

I had noticed in the first week of our acquaintance she had seemed so reluctant in every idea or plan I tried to make for us. She resisted my attempts to spend time with her outside of school and now I realised why. She had fought getting to know me, resisted befriending me so that she could keep the human facade up.

_Oh god she ate food._ I felt terrible for realising that. When we had been at the mall I had suggested she eat, and even though she resisted, eventually she gave in and actually ate that disgusting substance.

_Man she was committed._

So, Bella was a vampire and for whatever reason she was hiding that fact I would continue to hide it. It would be difficult but I vowed then and there to keep my thoughts discrete and hidden from Edward. If she didn't want us to know, I would not be the one to spill the beans. I would not betray her by telling others. It was odd since I had inadvertently found out from the wolves and not Bella herself, so in reality I had no reason to keep her secret, but some instinct told me that it would help me to gain her trust. And now that I knew I didn't have my insatiable curiosity to fight with in questioning her every day.

I was determined and I would succeed.

But then there was the problem of whether Bella would return or not so my keeping her secret could well be all in vain.

_Stay optimistic_ I coached myself and slowly walked home, using this time to practice not thinking about this amazing discovery.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Keeping secrets from your telepathic brother is harder than it sounds, and it sounds incredibly difficult.

Every thought, every single sub-conscious or conscious idea had to be under control. To prevent a slip I simply stopped thinking about her at all, which again is an incredibly difficult thing since she was constantly on my mind.

Small things would remind me of her, like the way one brunette tripped in gym on Tuesday, or the way Angela bit her bottom lip when she thought too deeply, or was concentrating. Little insignificant details about Bella became obvious, high-lighted moments and my mind would automatically dive into deep consideration over her and her actions.

Thankfully though, these things had only happened when Edward was out of range, or not listening. I pinched the bridge of my nose in irritation, _here I go again._

I just couldn't help myself, my thoughts revolved around her and I missed her like a physical ache.

I looked back down at the paper and examined the picture of Bella, smiling at something out of sight from the drawings point of view.

Frustrated, I screwed the paper up and threw it into the trashcan in the corner. A trashcan that was nearly overflowing with identical scrunched up discarded pieces of paper.

I had been sitting in my room drawing Bella for a while, but each time I did there was something missing.

Curious I stood and crouched by the bin, picking out and unfolding each one I studied them all carefully. Each one was a perfect replica of moments I had seen her, and subconsciously memorised the moment. She was in the school cafeteria, laughing, her mouth slightly open, teeth shining and eyes twinkling in the light. In her truck, concentrating, hands gripped firmly on the steering wheel, jaw clenched from what I now knew to be insane irritation instead of nervousness. Lying on the bed, eyes closed with a slight smile curving her luscious red lips, fingers intertwined and resting on her stomach. Reading her book on her bed, legs bent at the knees with her feet in the air and chewing her pencil in thought. Laughing hysterically with wet snow clumped in her hair, feet apart and hands full of balls of snow, the next second she had hurled both balls at me and I'd chastised her for ruining my jacket.  
Each one she had black, shining eyes (except for the one when she was 'resting her eyes' as she called it) and I realised what the problem was.

And as I connected those dots, the black eyes and the fact that she was a vampire, and then those dark glasses Angela had said she wore on Saturday I realised exactly what had been bothering me.

If she had had black eyes the entire time I had known her, it meant she had not feed. It meant she was constantly thirsty, fighting those instincts to kill her human friends.

But the only reason to put herself in that precarious situation would be because she would not want her eye colour to be known. Because the most significant signifier of a vampire is their crimson red eyes.

She fed from humans and that meant that on Saturday she had recently fed, causing red eyes and the impossible situation to explain her sudden change in eye colour. The glasses had been to hide her eyes, Angela had been correct to a degree, but instead of hiding red puffy eyes that were a result of crying, she was hiding crimson red irises, that were a result from drinking human blood.

I wasn't sure why this news was so surprising, why it was so shocking since it was what vampires did. Humans were their, our, natural prey and why would Bella be any different? Why should she feed from animals over humans? She had no reason too.

The only reason I had not fed from humans was because of my visions. My visions of Carlisle and his family of 'vegetarians'.

But it did bother me, as silly as it sounded it bothered me that Bella wasn't above it. She obviously had outstanding self-control to have lasted months without feeding and be in constant presence of humans and not killed at least one, so it bothered me that she hadn't risen above. She seemed too good to have given into every vampire's inner monster, to have given into the most basic instinct. To feed from humans.

I was 100 years old and I still struggled from time to time with resisting the urges to drink from the children around me, and most of the time I was content in my thirst, my eyes were yellow and still the attraction of blood pulled at me. So I wondered how old Bella must be to have such supreme control, it was something developed over years, Carlisle was the only one in my family that had no trouble resisting human blood and he was 350 years old. So perhaps she was round that age.

_Stop it Alice, you're thinking about her again!_ I chastised myself and immediately changed topics. Even though Edward wasn't in the house tonight, I couldn't let myself slip like that, I had to remain vigilant and disciplined.

Growling under my breath I stood and left my room, the frustration getting to me.

"Alice, where have you been? I haven't seen much of you for days." Esme greeted me with a bright smile that I attempted to return. Her smile dropped and she regarded me in sympathy, "I'm sure Bella with return soon." She placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder before pulling me into a small embrace.

"It's been a week, Esme what could possibly have been so important that she left without notifying anyone and then stayed away for a week?"

"It's been five days, sweetie."

"That's only if she left Sunday. For all we know she may well have packed and left Saturday night, and besides I haven't physically _seen_ her since Thursday, so it has been a week."

She smirked in amusement at my pedantic reply, "perhaps she is at home tonight? Are you going to go over and check?"

That was what I had been doing for the last week, every night I would drive over and check her house, although I didn't actually enter again. Of course all I had to do was make the conscious decision and I immediately knew if she would be home or not, since if she was not home, I would see myself standing at her front door. I sighed, "I guess, who knows -" I cut myself off as I realised I hadn't received a vision.

And no vision means Bella.

My eyes widened and a huge grin spread my lips as excitement rushed through me like an electrical current. Esme understood immediately and pushed me towards the door.

"You better go now, or she may disappear again."

I didn't hesitate and launched towards my car, spitting up stones as I flew towards her home.

The lights were on when I pulled in and ran up to her door, reaching it in time for her to open the front door, a frown on her face.

"What are you doing here?" She asked straight off and I leapt at her, engulfing her in a tight embrace, though not so tight it would have hurt a human, I wanted Bella to tell me when she was ready to, so I would continue to treat her as I would any human.

As it was she huffed, "Can't breathe, Alice," and cringed before I released her, giving her an embarrassed look.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry; I just can't believe your back! I missed you so much." Unable to control myself I wrapped my arms around her waist in another hug, this time however with less strength.

She was resistant to my hug, stiff and arms held by her sides. Chagrined I pulled back and took a step back to place distance between ourselves.

"I'm sorry, but I _really_ did miss you and before you kick me off your property I just want to apologise, about last week. I had no real right to pry into your life like that and I promise to keep my nose out of it in the future." I looked up shyly, my head still angled away and her expression surprised me. It was torn, agonised and she looked as if she were about to bite her bottom lip off.

She stepped back, turning and gesturing that I was welcome to enter. I did so timidly, it was off-putting not being able to read Bella's thoughts through her facial expression and I didn't have the slightest idea what to expect from her.

We both perched on the edge of the cushions, facing each other our knees inches apart. Bella pressed her hands together and rested them on her lap, her bottom lip still firmly clasped between her white teeth.

"So may I ask where you were?" I broke the silence timorously, cautiously testing my limits. She turned her face away, deep in thought, chewing on her lip now.

"I went to Seattle early. My friend contacted me late Saturday and I left early Sunday morning. He was only staying the week and I didn't want to miss him."

I nodded, pleased she had answered but I knew she was only giving me the bare minimum facts.

She bowed her head before slowly lifting it to look at me directly, her black eyes serious, "Listen, Alice, I... when I was in Seattle I confided in my friend because I began... experiencing things I had never experienced before. He was very helpful in his advice, which was to speak with you." She paused and I had never seen her so hesitant in her words before. She sounded so unsure ad timid, this was an entirely new experience for her and it was an odd thing for me to see. I wasn't sure how to react to such a shy, nervous Bella, since she always seemed so confident and sure of herself.

Swallowing strongly she continued in the same quiet, hesitant voice, "Since my parents deaths I have not socialised, I have not befriended people and you were the first one I had spoken to, or made conscious effort to acquaint myself with... since then. Of course I later became more confident in speaking and befriending others, but as my relationship with you and them grew, I began noticing some differences. Differences in my interactions, and in my feelings.

"I began noticing, Alice that I felt more strongly for you than I did for the others. I wished to spend more of my time in your company, spend more time talking and interacting with you individually and in seclusion.

"I didn't understand it, I didn't understand what it signified and so it... frightened me. It still frightens me that I care for you in a way I have not cared for another before. I care for you in a way I don't care for anyone else and this scares me."

She stopped and ducked her head away, hiding those expressive black eyes from me and I was shell-shocked. She had just opened up to me in a way she had never before and I was thoroughly humbled by it. And while I was ecstatic she appeared to share similar feelings to my own, I contained myself because she didn't seemed enthused by her admission.

I was momentarily frozen, unsure of how to react, so relying on instinct to guide me I shifted closer and ran my finger along her jaw line and under her chin, coercing her to lift her head. She did so reluctantly and I stared into her eyes seriously.

"Bella, I understand. I know _exactly _what you mean." She frowned slightly, swallowing again.

I leant closer, "Will you let me try something?" I whispered and gently stroked her left cheek with the fingertips of my right hand.

Her eyes regarded me cautiously, but she eventually closed them and nodded, her lips parting slightly.

I leant forwards even further, testing myself and her, before softly placing my lips to hers. As soon as contact was made she jerked backwards, and I opened my eyes slowly to see her head was bowed.

"I'm -" I opened my mouth to apologise but she shook her head, eyes squeezed shut.

"Don't," She whispered and lifted her head as she tenderly caressing my cheek. I closed my eyes in reflex at the sensation her fingers created in me.

She continued to trace my cheek, the strange warmth her vampiric skin should not be capable of creating radiated through me as her thumb ran over my lips, her pinkie tickling my jaw line. She turned her hand over and her nails ran back along my cheek and behind my neck, her thumb circled beside my ear and I felt her lean forwards before her warm lips touched mine a second time.

I held perfectly still, allowing her to direct our pace. Her lips parted and began moving with mine. We learnt each other, familiarising ourselves with the other. Her lips were both warmth and unyielding as I pressed in a little harder, it was an incredible sensation, something I had never experienced and was beyond my wildest imaginings.

After we seemed to have learnt the technique, her other hand, that wasn't already holding my neck, crept up my arm and cupped under my neck, pulling me closer. I responded enthusiastically, running my hands up her thighs to grip her waist.

This was my mistake, because next thing I know she has tensed, and then I'm airborne, flying through the air, crashing through her wall and smashing her kitchen counter into pieces. I only stopped because the fridge had been bolted to the floor, though I did leave an impressive indent in the side, its stainless steel cover not standing a chance against my granite hard skin.

I pulled myself from the debris, watching Bella, who stood beside the couch, her eyes squeezed shut, her chest heaving and her fists clenched tight.

I stood perfectly still as I waited for her to gain control and calm down, I had obviously triggered some instinct in her, my actions making her feel so threatened she had forgotten her facade, forgotten who she was and who I was, except that I was a threat.

I was mentally kicking myself for having gotten carried away, but I also didn't know why she had reacted so violently.

Finally, after an agonisingly long amount of time her breathing slowed and she opened her eyes slowly, her black orbs alert and waiting for any movement on my behalf.

Neither of us spoke as we sized the other, I had needed to reign myself in. Since I had just been assaulted my vampiric side was urging me to engage her in a fight.

"I'm sorry," She whispered so quietly I nearly missed it.

She moved; her hand lifted and ran her fingers through her hair, removing the wild strands from her face. "I'm sorry." She repeated and I stepped forwards, incredibly slowly.

I couldn't even begin organising my thoughts into making coherent sentences as she repeatedly apologised.

"Bella, its fine. I'm fine."

Her eyes told me of her raging emotions, her self-doubt and self-recrimination as she scratched her nails down her face and angled her face from me again.

...

"Bella?" I called nervously after she had not spoken for a while.

She seemed calm now and I took another step forwards, pleased when she didn't flinch or tense further.

"Are you okay?"

Her face was still turned from me but she nodded jerkily.

"I'm really -"

"You can stop apologising, I'm unharmed." I assured her and her face snapped towards me, and I was surprised to see she was angry.

"It's irrelevant if you're hurt or not! I threw you through a wall, regardless of the fact it damaged my wall more than you, I still attacked with intent to harm. And that is not okay."

Her anger wasn't directed at me, but at herself.

"But I -"

"No, Alice, I don't care that your unharmed, I don't care that you're as invulnerable as the next vampire. I care that I actually threw you through a wall, I actually _threw_ you Alice because you -" She cut herself off, pursed her lips and growled under her breath. "Regardless of the fact that you weren't harmed Alice, I still acted with the intent to harm you and that is not acceptable."

This was the first time she had openly admitted she knew what I was but I couldn't concentrate on that, because she had just bombarded me with so much.

"Bella," I stepped forwards again, and held my hand out gently. "Please, Bella its fine, I moved to fast for you and you had every right to behave like that. I threatened you and you reacted like anyone would, you lashed out in self-defence." I still wasn't even completely certain of what I had done wrong but I knew it had had something to do with how I had touched her. As soon as my hands curved around her waist she had tensed, for less than a second before she grabbed my shirt, spun and then threw me away, into the counter. Whatever had gone through her mind in that brief moment had been something so bad it made her forget herself.

I heard her inhale through her nose loudly and she stared at me for so long I began doubting she would speak at all.

"You don't seem all too surprised that I just launched you through the wall."

I ducked my head before giving her a sheepish look, "I kind of already knew."

She didn't seem all too upset over that, merely raising an eyebrow in question.

"The wolves from La Push told me."

"Wolves?" At that she frowned in confusion.

"Yeah, the werewolves, the ones who roughed you up on Saturday."

Her eyebrows lifted, "Those are not werewolves, not true Children of the Moon."

"Not true werewolves? I kind of saw them with my own eyes..."

She smirked, "The true Children of the Moon do not run in packs, nor live in homes and interact with humans. And they certainly would not allow a coven of vampires to live unharmed mere miles from their homes."

"So what are they?"

She shrugged, "Shape shifters would be the most fitting description."

"How would you know the difference anyway? I thought that the werewolves were hunted to extinction centuries ago."

"Because I've seen them with my own eyes."

My eyebrows lifted by themselves as I stared at her in awe, thoroughly impressed. "Emmett will be so jealous."

"Emmett must not know. Your family can not know who I really am."

"Why not?"

She faced me fully now, iron determination hardening her expression, "Because you were never meant to know anyway. Had the shape shifters not informed you of who I truly was, you still would not know. I had no intention of telling you. Ever."

I clenched my jaw, trying not to show how much that hurt, "So wouldn't have told me at all? You would have seriously continued to lie to me?"

"It's not lying if I'm not telling you something."

My eyes narrowed, "That's a fine line, Bella and I'm surprised you would even go there. You still would have been keeping secrets."

"Yes, and as I'd already told you that I have every right to keep things private, and regardless, the fact that I am a vampire is irrelevant to our friendship."

I scoffed, "Oh don't give me that, Bella. The fact that you're a vampire changes _everything_ about our friendship."

"How so?"

I stepped forwards and even though she towered over me my anger gave me some height. "Because it would mean that I could interact with you so much differently. I wouldn't constantly fight myself; I wouldn't have to constantly resist the pull of your blood."

She leant forwards then, smiling darkly, "Are you certain you're not fighting yourself right now?"

Reflexively I inhaled and was blown aware by the incredible scent. It was like a physical punch to my senses, like someone had shoved a burning coal down my throat. I actually felt my eyes darken and I was forced to step back so that I wouldn't latch onto her throat.

"How are you doing that?" I crooked, in actual pain.

"That is irrelevant. The point is that whether you know I'm a vampire or not, you would still need to control your instincts, only now you don't need to worry as much if you do lose control, as I won't be harmed."

I snarled quietly, immensely frustrated by her.

"Damn it, Bella, why do you have to be so..." I struggled to find a word to describe what she was and failed, "so... urg!" I exclaimed and threw my hands in the air.

I turned back round to face her and saw she was actually amused by my theatrics as she seemed to be containing a smirk.

"What could have you running so scared that you'd keep everyone at such a distance?" Her expression darkened and I knew I'd hit the nail on the head. I stepped forwards and dug deeper, "Come on, Bella, what has you hiding, pretending to be a human like a scared little child?"

I knew I was pushing her, poking the sleeping bear but I was too angry to care. She knew exactly how to push my buttons, knew exactly what to do to frustrate and drive me up the wall.

A snarl rumbled from her chest and she towered over me threateningly and for the first time since I had known her I was scared. In fact, for the first time in my existent I was genuinely scared.

My expression must have portrayed my fear because her expression changed in lightning speed and she stepped back shaking her head.

"You honestly want to know, Alice? Because just now I scared you, from a look on my face. You've been in my presence for less than two hours having known I was a vampire, and already you have feared me, just from a look. So think about this, Alice, if I can frighten you from a look, imagine for just one second what could possibly scare me enough to hide my identity."

My mouth gaped open a few times in surprise. I hadn't thought of that, but if I was being honest I hadn't thought at all. I hadn't expected her to be so bluntly honest with me because I was so accustomed to her hedging and avoiding my questions.

I bowed my head, "I would still like to know because I want to help. I want to be there for you."

She laughed humourlessly, "What could you possibly do for me, Alice? Are you going to save me?"

Her voice was so dead, so hopeless and bitter and it broke my dead heart.

"I want to try."

Her expression dropped and her shoulders slumped.

"Come on, Bella, talk to me, please, let me in!" I pleaded and grasped her hand in mine, squeezing it gently.

She sat down on the couch and for nearly an hour stared out the window, watching the rain drizzle and tinkle down the window pane.

Finally she spoke, so quietly I almost had to strain to hear her voice over the pitter-patter of the rain on her roof.

"I don't remember much about my human life, only some minimal facts. I don't truly remember the face of my mother or father; I don't remember anything more than the fact that they loved me.

"We lived a modest life, we were not rich but we were not living in poverty. My parent's only ever wanted what was best for me, what would make me happy. I was content with my life.

"The night I was changed I was walking home from the market, it was later than usual and so I hurried, not wanting my parents to worry.

"Not 2 miles from home I was confronted by a beautiful man. I was momentarily paralyzed by his beauty, but while it was captivating, it was also terrifying. His crimson red eyes shone in the moon light and at that moment, when his eyes swept my figure, I knew. I knew this was where I would die; I knew I would not see my parents ever again.

"He moved faster than I could comprehend, one moment his crimson red eyes are boring into mine, next his hand is squeezing my neck. I felt his cool breath on my shoulder and I was petrified, frozen in fear. 'Mmm, fascinating,' he murmured before running his nose down my neck."

Bella paused and rubbed her hands together.

"The pain was unimaginable, I felt as though I was already dead and this was my hell. I even remember thinking what had I done to deserve this hellish torture. I had been a good child, from a god-fearing family. I never sinned, never cursed. So what had I done to deserve this torment?

"But after what felt like an eternity, I felt the pain recede and I heard my heart... I actually _heard_ my last heart beat. When I opened my eyes everything was so clear, so defined and I didn't understand. I didn't even have a chance to experiment or even begin to think about what had happened because I sat up at the sound of someone's breathing. That same man was there and I didn't even give him a chance to speak before I escaped. I literally ran through the wall of the room I woke in and I didn't stop running for months. Not until the fear had subsided and I realised there was a burning in my throat so painful I couldn't continue ignoring it."

She stopped then and I knew that she had reacted on instincts and fed on a human, and continued to feed on humans.

"How long ago was that?" I asked timidly, not sure how much more she would share.

"That was 1,095,606 days ago." She answered mechanically and I instantly converted it into years.

I thought I had misheard, "Huh?"

She smiled slightly, "Approximately 3000 years I have wandered this Earth." She repeated and I just starred at her like I was seeing her for the first time.

"You're _3000_ years old? As in three oh, oh, oh?"

She nodded, still smiling crookedly, "As in three millenniums."

"Holy, sweet, merciful, mother of pearl." I breathed and felt lightheaded for the first time in my pitiful hundred years. Bella Swan, the previously believed 18 year-old human was actually a 3000 year old vampire. Never before had immortality meant so much to me. She had been around Before Christ. She had been born sometime in 1000 BC.

She was an _ancient._

I was too stunned for several minutes to say or do anything other than stare at her in disbelief.

She waited patiently for me to regain my composure, though I was struggling with that task.

"So do you know who that man was?" And at that question she stiffened, her face hardened and her eyes flashed dangerously.

"I do not know his name." Was all she said and I had the good sense to drop that line of questioning.

"So you've known this entire time we were vampires?"

A smile tugged at her lips, "Yes. I knew of your presence before I'd even met you," At my puzzled looked she continued, "I smelt your scent in the parking lot the first day."

"You must have a keen sense of smell." I chuckled and she smiled again, nodding gently.

I sighed, "So you're adamant in keeping this from my family?"

She nodded again, "Yes, they cannot know."

"It'll be difficult keeping this from Edward." I commented and at his name her expression darkened.

"Yes, his telepathy will make things difficult, but I'm assuming you have succeeded in keeping it from him thus far."

I nodded, it was difficult but I was experienced in evading his talent.

"So how did you know I had returned?" She asked and I pursed my lips.

"Uh, well I can see the future. Like, I have premonitions, but it's subjective to a person's decision. But with you, I can't see any vision. I can't see the outcome of your decisions, nor can I see the outcome of anyone who makes a decision that involves you in their future."

She nodded as though she were not actually surprised by this, "So when you failed to get a vision of yourself standing at my front door you immediately knew that I would in fact be home."

"Wait, how'd you know...?"

She gave me a wry smile, "My front porch is coated in your scent. I knew the moment I hopped out of my truck that you had been a regular visitor to my door."

I ducked my head in embarrassment at being caught having basically stalked her home for a week. She laughed, "And don't think I didn't notice that you broke the lock on my window. Did you join Edward in his nightly stalking of my bedroom?"

I spluttered. I had actually forgotten that I'd broken in that first night and she'd caught me off guard.

"Oh, um," I sighed, caught red-handed, "Yes I broke it, but no I didn't join Edward. He came in afterwards. But we both did notice that that window had been replaced, same with a small amount of wood on your bedroom wall. What happened there?"

It was her turn to splutter and she blushed phenomenally.

"Oh, I..." Her words failed her, "On the night we fought, I kind of threw a tantrum, for lack of a better term."

She was still exquisitely red and I shifted closer, wanting to stroke the skin to see if it was as warm as it appeared.

"How are you doing this?" I asked instead of touching her.

"Doing what?"

"Blushing. And how do you have a heartbeat?"

As I said those words the blush faded. Not like a human's blush would, gradually, it was more as if a veil was lifted from my eyes and I could see her clearly for the first time. Her snow white porcelain skin became clear and I couldn't understand how I could have mistaken her for a human.

"Like you can see the future, and Edward can read thoughts, I have an ability that renders over's inert. No mental attack can harm me, no physical element, such as your 'visions' can effect me. But more than that I can project what I have determined as a kind of shield onto others, and thus manipulate their mind. I simply change what the messages your senses tell your brain. So when you hear my heartbeat, or see me blush, I am simply manipulating the messages your senses tell your mind."

"So it's only in relation to you? Like you can't make me think Emmett is actually a 4'2" South American with curly pink shoulder length bangs?"

Bella laughed at the mental image that description produced but shrugged, "I have never actually tried to manipulate anything other than my own image but I doubt it would work, since I only manipulate what your senses portray me to be, the energy required to not only project my shield onto others, but also on the person who's image I am altering would be too great for me to handle."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember our first trip to Seattle?"

I nodded, "Of course."

"I'd be surprised if you failed to notice how my eye colour changed. How it became a greyish colour instead of a dark black."

My eyes widened as I remembered and it finally made sense, "I had actually noticed that, and wondered about it."  
"Yes, well, when my eyes fade to grey then white it is an indication of my powers energy level. That is the only name I can give it. My powers rely on blood to operate which is why I am required to feed more often and at larger quantities to replenish my 'stock' and prevent my power from failing."

"Oh, wow."

She nodded and we lapsed into a more comfortable silence, both of us deep in thought about all that we had learnt today.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Why did you kiss me?" I asked and watched her carefully. Her expression changed minutely, giving me nothing more than her surprise at my question.

But then she broke eye contact, looking at her fingers intertwined and her thumbs flicking each other.

"Because I..." She paused and took a deep breath, "Because I really care for you, and am attracted to you in a way that means I want more than friendship with you."

She bit her lip and kept her eyes trained on her hands.

I also looked away, incredibly embarrassed for some inexplicable reason.

I had shared with Alice, more information than I'd ever done in relation to the span of time I'd known her.

And this inexplicable trust I felt for her left me feeling unbelievably vulnerable. She knew things about me that only one other person did. And it had taken him decades upon decades before I'd trusted him with the kind of information I'd shared with Alice. And I'd only known Alice a measly few months.

So the feelings of trust she brought forth in me left me feelings wary. Trust was not easily come across with me, and for her to have weaselled her way in so fast and effectively. Well, it left me feeling wary and vulnerable.

And vulnerability wasn't something I liked experiencing.

...

I wasn't sure how to respond to her confession so I remained silent.

It wasn't that I was complaining about her kissing me, on the contrary I had enjoyed the queer gesture of touching lips to lips. It was that I didn't understand why she would have wanted to kiss me. Over the years I had seen many couples participate in the act, but I had never understood why. Never known the reason behind it, and certainly never known what pleasure could be found in touching in such a manner.

But with Alice, with the way our lips had connected, I began to understand. It was pleasant, intimate and enjoyable. A sensation unlike any I had ever felt and I found I actually liked it. I liked it very much.

"Would you mind if I were to ask you why you threw me through a wall?" She asked after she realised I wasn't going to respond. At her words I closed my eyes and fought to ignore the flashes of images behind my eyelids. I myself wasn't even entirely sure why I had reacted like that, but all I knew was the way she had touched me triggered something that had long lay dormant and was suddenly at the forefront of my memory.

I had no longer been sitting on my couch, in my house with Alice's hair tangled in my fingers. I was back 3000 years, lying in the mud, terrified. The way her hands had touched my waist had brought forth the memories I thought time had erased and I hadn't been able to control my instincts.

"I... am not sure if I can even describe, or articulate neither what happened nor what I felt." I answered and Alice placed a gentle hand on my forearm, rubbing it soothingly.

She saw my discomfort and thankfully did not further her questioning; instead changed the topic to lighter matters.

"Would you consider continuing with our original plan for watching movies tonight?" She asked with a shy smile and I nodded.

Her plan to introduce me had temporarily slipped my mind and now that I didn't really have to worry too much about not sleeping or needing to really behave as a human in her presence the night sounded that much more appealing.

"Esme will be so pleased!" She squealed, grinning from ear to ear and I chuckled lightly.

"And you are far too easily excited, but it is an adorable attribute." I teased and flicked her nose, which she scrunched up adorably.

She seemed ready to retort, when her smile slipped, "But you can't possibly eat the food she will undoubtedly prepare for you,"

I shrugged, "I have done it before, and so long as your thoughts are controlled in Edwards's presence, then I will have no trouble in keeping up my charade. But perhaps you would feel less guilty about my consuming human food, if you were to join me." I smirked and her eyes widened in mock fear and she raised both hands to field me off.

"Just because you're ridiculously committed to maintaining your charade, does not mean I'm willing to go to such extremities as to actually put that food into my mouth and then swallow it."

I shrugged, "But if I am a human, believing you too are human, it is awfully odd, or even suspicious that you do not partake in the activity of consuming beverages and snacks."

She laughed at my serious expression, but did seem appreciative of my knowledge, "You seem to have done your homework."

I nodded with a small, self-satisfied smile, "The internet is quite a wondrous place for quick information."

Another peal of laughter escaped her lips, "You sound like an advertising campaign." She tilted her head in such a way I knew she was about to some something cheeky, "I'm surprised that you could actually operate the computer, let alone navigate around the internet."

I smacked her shoulder, playing insult at the insinuation, and ignoring the fact that I had needed to read first the instructions for the operation of the computer and then a guide to the use of the internet. And even then it had taken hours for me to accustom myself with navigating, as Alice said, the internet.

"What? It's true, you didn't even know what movies were and they've been around at least 50 years." Alice laughed and swiped at my hand in an effort to prevent a second smacking.

"Oh, but I forgot! 50 years is but a small dot on your infinite numbers of years."

I nodded, "Indeed 50 years is not long when you have eternity. But let me ask you, Alice how did you learn to operate a computer? Or a cellular device?"

She blanched at my question, not having expecting it. "Oh, um -"

I leant forwards, "Precisely my point, Alice. Nobody knows anything until they have learnt it, so before you mock me about my lack of knowledge, remember that I do have nearly 3000 years experience on you. I have memories from a history you would not know about. I have personal experiences of events that you have only been taught from persons who have read to you from literature that was written millenniums ago."

She seemed incredibly surprised by my words and I smirked widely.

"Oh, and what kind of experiences are you speaking of?"

I pursed my lips in mock thought, "I saw Ramesses the Second become leader of Ancient Egypt; in passing of course. And a few years later I witnessed Wu Ding's proclaimed king of Shang Dynasty."

"You know none of that means anything to me." She said with a quiet snort of air escaping her nostrils. And I laughed, "You obviously need to brush up on your history."

"Yeah, but that's like _ancient_ history. I only keep up with the _present_ history."

"Ah, but then do remember little, Alice that ancient history to you, is a mere memory for me."

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Well I'm having a difficult time believing that you're as old as you say you are. For all I know you're just giving me facts from a book you recently read."

She said it in jest, teasing me but I actually paused to consider her words and then decided the best well to prove my age was a physical display of my strength and speed.

"Will you allow me to demonstrate my age to you?"

Her eyebrows rose in curiosity and she took my offered hand, standing with graceful ease. I lead her outside, wanting as much room to move as possible.

"I found, that as the millenniums passed me by, my strength and speed enhanced. I lay it down to being a basic survival mechanism within all immortals - A natural occurrence that enables us to outmatch our juniors, our challengers. It is survival of the fittest." I released her hands and stood a few steps back.

Making sure her eyes were on me before I moved so suddenly and with such speed, that when I stopped beside her, her eyes were still staring at the spot I had previously been.

She jumped away from me and I ran to her other side to catch her before her feet touched the ground.

"Jesus, Bella!" She exclaimed and I set her feet on the ground before 'disappearing' again. Running to the other side of my backyard I made sure she saw me, watched her pupil's focus, before dashing back to her side.

"So do you believe I am fast?" I whispered in her ear and again she jerked away in fright.

"Y-yes," She answered shakily and I lifted her, spinning her around a few... hundred times, before setting her back on her feet and stepping back.

"And how should I display my strength?" I asked with a very cocky smirk.

She shook her head, "I really don't think that's necessary. I believe you. Honestly. But how are you so fast?"

I smiled, "Because I am so old."

I heard the grandfather clock chime then, meaning it was most likely 8 and that indicated that if we left it any later to begin this movie marathon we would attract suspicion.

Alice seemed to share the same thoughts as I did as she grabbed my hand and ran towards her canary yellow Porsche.

As we seated ourselves and she pulled out of the driveway she turned on me, "Is English your only language?"

It was an odd question to ask, but I laughed and answered in Latin, "_Nimirum__non__, ego sum __facundus__ in __plurimus__ lingua__."_ ⁽¹⁾

She lifted an eyebrow, "Was that Latin?"

I laughed, "Yes."

She chuckled, "So what else do you know?"

"Like I said; most languages. When you have been around for 3000 years, and have travelled to every inch of the world, it is sensible to learn the language of the country you are currently residing in as it makes luring your prey easier when you know how to speak with them."

She peeled off something in rapid Arabic and I responded, and then switched to French.

We actually spent the trip to her house speaking in different languages and it wasn't until I spoke in Tsonga that she laughed, shaking her head in defeat.

"Alright, I concede, you win."

I laughed along with her, "Well that's to be expected. I doubt even in your, what 50 years?"

"90!" She retorted indignantly and I laughed.

"Oh, excuse me, _90_ years. I doubt in your 90 years you would have felt the desire to learn every language on this Earth, considering you had more... interesting things to do." I gave her a sly look, "Like shopping."

"Hey! I am not a shopaholic and I totally resent that!" She cried crossly and punched me in the arm. Then shook her hand, "Geez, how hard is your skin?"

"I'm guessing harder than yours." I answered and laughed.

She pulled into her driveway then and I rearranged my features so that it seemed as though I were seeing her home for the very first time.

"Welcome to my humble home, Bella Swan." She did a sweeping motion with her hands towards the house and I laughed.

"You are an odd entity, aren't you?"

"Each to their own." She responded and led me into her house.

Alice barged through the front door and announced her arrival loudly.

"Mum, Dad, we're home!"

Esme appeared around the corner, wiping her hands on a tea towel, and when she saw me she smiled broadly.

"Oh, hello, Bella," She greeted and draped the towel over her shoulder before giving me a gentle hug.

"Good evening, Mrs Cullen." I replied, allowing the embrace.

"Oh, please, do call me Esme."

I smiled and heard Carlisle coming down the stairs.

We all turned as he descended the last stair and smiled, "Bella, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't realise you were back in Forks."

I smiled, "I only returned about 5 hours ago. Alice jumped on me only 20 minutes after I had actually arrived home. I still need to unpack my duffel bag."

Carlisle laughed and wrapped an arm around Esme's waist before kissing the top of her head lightly.

"Do I hear Bella?" Emmett called from the lounge and we all laughed.

I listened as he switched off some device he was on and swaggered over.

"It is Bella!" He hollered, and then swept me off my feet in a bear hug. I had expected this type of behaviour from him now so I simply laughed and allowed him to spin me in a circle.

"Where have you been?"

"I went to Seattle for the week." I answered honestly and he placed me back on my feet.

"Why would you do that? And not tell any of us?"

I stepped back and ran my fingers through my hair, "I wasn't under the impression it was a requirement to inform anyone of my plans."

The room filled with frowns and I coughed into a closed fist. I could hear movement from the garage, and Rosalie's scent, so I surmised she was working there. But Edward's scent was stale, indicating he was no longer in the house.

Thankfully Alice broke the awkward silence, "Come, Bella, let's pick out some movies to watch."

Esme watched Alice tow me away and called out to our backs, "I'll make some snacks for you girls and bring them up."

"Thanks Mum." Alice called back, not releasing me until I was in her bedroom.

She opened her closet, which I may comment was larger than my bedroom, and came out again with a pile of rectangular cases. The movies I concluded.

She nodded towards the bed, a silent invitation to sit myself on her bed. I bounced on it, sitting cross-legged and watched as she set up the television.

"So I'm thinking we do a 'films through the ages' type marathon. Start with some Silent Films and move on from there," She slipped in a disk and hopped on the bed beside me before scooting back, to lie down on the pile of cushions.

I was comfort where I sat, considering I was never discomforted by long periods of stillness, but in order to keep up with pretences I lay back beside her.

Okay, maybe it was more to do with the fact that I wished to be in a closer proximity to her than keeping up with a charade. Either way I lay beside her, my forearm brushing her biceps and I felt a peculiar electrical current rush through me. It was thrilling and I felt as though my senses were far more alert than ever before. And that in itself was saying something.

Alice hit a button on a small rectangular shaped device and the television screen flickered, and then images appeared.

I actually sat up, fascinated by the moving images, the over-expressive humans and the strange moments of text, to illustrate what had been said.

I didn't move from my position until approaching footsteps reminded me that I was not alone with Alice, that there were others here who believed me human, and that Esme would be bringing beverages for me to consume. As was expected of a human.

Esme knocked gently before pushing the door aside with her shoulder, carrying a tray with two glasses, a jug of black coloured liquid, and two large bowls.

"Hey girls, I brought some popcorn, chips and some Coca-Cola."

I smiled sincerely, "Thank you very much, Esme, that's awfully kind of you."

"It's no trouble."

Alice smiled and waved her out with her hand, eyes on me.

Once the door had closed she raised an eyebrow at me, her eyes darted from the bowl between us and me.

Deliberately I reached out and picked up a single piece of 'popcorn', and placed it on my out-stretched tongue before chewing slowly and swallowing.

The texture was peculiar, unlike any other human food I had eaten before, but the taste was the same. Flavourless, since I had no saliva for the sugars in the food to react with.

Eyes still connected with hers I picked up one of the glasses and took a slow, large drink. The temperature matched that of my mouth and slid down my throat smoothly. It was nothing like that of drinking blood, as it lacked warmth and was thinner.

Alice's eyes were nearly bugging out as I picked up a chip and chewed on it, swallowing loudly.

I smirked and turned back to the movie, laughing to myself at Alice's disbelief.

The food was fine sitting in my stomach, until around 12, approximately 2 hours after I had consumed the provided beverages. I felt the familiar cramping of my stomach, the only time the muscles worked. Since there was no longer any stomach acid to dissolve and break down the food it sat idle in my stomach until an irritation set the muscles off. I believed it was a reaction with the venom in my system, as venom does not break down food particles as it does with blood.

The reaction caused a cramping in my muscles that was a warning to my conscious that the food needed to be expelled.

I hastily stood from the bed and walked to the bathroom at a rushed human pace, aware of the listening vampires.

Turning the tap on, I crouched down in front of the toilet bowl and allowed my stomach muscles to tighten, my torso began spasming and I heaved the contents of my stomach up, spitting them into the bowl.

"Oh god, Bella I'm sorry." Alice whispered as she crouched beside me in the bathroom, rubbing my back in a soothing circular motion.

I spat out the last bits of chewed up chips and popcorn and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"It's no problem, Alice, I'll do my part you do yours."

She clenched her jaw in what was obvious restraint from arguing with me and took my hand, leading me back to the bed.

...

It was nearing 2 in the morning when Alice nudged me. I turned to her and she gestured towards the clock on the bedside table.

"Gee, Bella you look exhausted. Don't you think it's time to go to sleep?"

I smirked and crawled under the covers so quick she would have missed the movement.

"I'm ready for bed." I answered and we both laughed.

I faked a yawn and rolled on my side, curling up and closed my eyes. Alice stayed where she was, but I could feel her eyes on me so I decreased the apparent speed of my heart, and evened out my breathing.

I heard, and sensed, Alice move closer, and then felt her breath breeze past my ear and neck.

"Are you seriously going to stay like that all night long?"

She whispered so low that there was no chance any of the other resident vampires could possibly have overheard.

"It is what humans do," I replied in like volume.

"But if we whisper like this, who would overhear us? Edward has gone hunting, since your scent in such close proximity is just too much for him to handle." She snickered and crawled over me, so that she lay on her side, her face inches from mine.

"Ah but, Alice, I may be able to keep such a conversation with you running without raising my voice, but I doubt you can."

She snorted, "Is that a challenge?"

"Not at all, it is a mere fact that I'm far too funny for you to keep a straight face, and your voice under control."

My words were proven correct when she burst into a fit of giggles and playfully shoved my shoulder. I rolled with it, so that my back was turned to her.

Again she crawled over me and I opened my eyes to see hers sparkling in the dim moon light.

Tentatively she lifted a hand and ran a finger down the side of my cheek.

"Would you object to my kissing you?" She whispered into the night and I replied by bringing my hand up and cupping her cheek, my thumb caressing her lips before leaning in closer.

Her eyes held mine until I felt the feather touch of her smooth lips on mine. My eyes closed on reflex and I kept my hand holding her cheek as our lips began to move in a slow, synchronised dance. One hand was placed on my shoulder, just above my triceps while the other snuck in the gap between my neck and the bed.

Alice was the one to pull away first. She rested her forehead against mine, smiling gently.

"It is rather disorientating, for lack of a better word, that your heartbeat remains so even when I feel as though it should be pounding."

"Yes, well, we can't have the other residents overhearing an overactive heart, when I'm meant to be sleeping."

She giggled quietly this time and I hummed, my chest vibrating lightly.

...

We lay together on the bed until morning broke and Alice rolled over to check the time.

I yawned loudly for show and she grinned, flashing her white teeth.

"Good morning, Bella how was your sleep?" She asked, loud enough for others to hear.

I stretched, "As can be expected."

"Did you dream?"

I bounced off the bed, "I always dream, but the contents of my dream vary."

"As is the case with every other person who sleeps." She responded, following me off the bed and I stifled another yawn.

She danced closer and whispered in my ear, "You are quite talented at playing human, especially considering you've never done this before."

"Mmm, and what makes you think I have not done this before?" I reply.

She smirked, "Because you have led me to believe that I am the first vampire you have ever spoken to."

"Well then, I apologise for misleading you."

She pulled back.

"I'm not the first vampire you have spoken to?" Her voice was still too low to be overheard, but the surprise was obvious.

"Why do you think I refused you and Edward's offers to accompany me to Seattle?"

"Your friend is a vampire?"

I smiled wider, "Yes, I've known him for years."

"And by years you mean?"

I shrugged, "Around 150 years."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course."

"Does he know about your playing human?"

I shook my head and her grin reappeared, "Then I am proven correct that you have not done this before."

Laughing in defeat I allowed Alice to tow me from the room, after I had had another 'human moment' and changed clothing.

**(Of course not, I am fluent in most languages.)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"So, you and Alice seem to have made up." Angela commented as she slid into the seat beside me.  
It was Monday morning, we were in English and she had obviously seen Alice and I exit her canary-yellow Porsche earlier.

We had spent the weekend together. Alice had been nice enough to allow me to watch several more movies and then we'd simply spent time together.

She was polite enough not to question me too heavily about my past, and I learnt more about her.

She told me she didn't remember her past, her human life at all. That she'd woken up as a vampire and after some years wandering alone, she'd had several visions that eventually led her to find the Cullens.

I couldn't suppress the ear-to-ear smile that pulled at the corners of my lips whenever I thought of that young, tiny vampire.

The blush that adorned my cheeks felt so natural now that it took little to no conscious thought to create it whenever I felt embarrassment.

"Oh you totally have!" She exclaimed and laughed excitedly, "But judging by your face I'm thinking there is something more going on between you two."

I blinked rapidly and my jaw dropped before I could catch it, "W-what do you mean?" I stuttered and Angela laughed again.

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you stutter!"

"What do you mean?" I repeated and she couldn't seem to control her facial muscles as her grin seemed to widen impossibly.

"I've never heard you stutter before, so I'm guessing there is something really juicy going on between you and Alice!" She squealed and clapped her hands in childish excitement, "You have got to tell me everything!"

"I – there's nothing to tell," I lied unsuccessfully as she raised a sceptical brow at me.

"Do be a buzz kill, Bella! I've seen the way you look at her, I've seen the way you smile and how just having her in the same room makes you visibly light up. So you can't seriously think you can sit there and tell me there is nothing more than friendship happening between you two."

I sighed and bit my bottom lip, something Alice had told me she adores.

"You are far too observant for your own good," I complained and she simply watched me expectantly. "I wasn't being entirely dishonest when I said there is nothing more than friendship between us, not that I _actually_ said that..." I fidgeted with my pen, "We haven't exactly spoken nor confirmed that we are anything other than friends, but I am assuming that friends do not kiss?" I looked to her and her eyes widened in delight.

"Ohmigod, you guys have _kissed_?" She squealed and I shushed her before we both looked down at our books because the teacher overheard Angela's exclamation and was giving us a disapproving look.

"Sorry," she whispered, "you two kissed? Ohmigod that is so cute!"

I didn't understand the term but I presumed it meant that she was not disapproving nor judging.

I was aware that homosexuality and any behaviour that denoted homosexuality, was not widely accepted in society, but judging by her tone and expression I was able to conclude that she accepted me.

I gave her a shy smile, "But I am unsure what that means for our friendship. How am I meant to proceed?" I asked timidly, embarrassed by my severe lack of knowledge and understanding in this topic.

She smiled kindly "Well, first off talk to her! I mean, I'm sure you two already have talked and stuff, but tell her that you want more... that is if you do want more?"

"I'm not sure what _more_ means or involves," I admitted, my blush deepening.

Angela gave me an understanding look, "Honestly, neither do I really. I can't even begin to articulate what _more_ could mean. What it involves, or what is expected. But what I do know Bella, is that the way you two interact with each other, the physical contact, the looks and secret smiles you give each other is a significant part of that 'more'. Friends do not kiss; friends do not ogle each other and lose themselves in each other's eyes, as you did this morning and friends certainly don't get some lovey-dovey expression every time they see each other." Her tone turned slightly teasing and I whipped her shoulder lightly while sharing in a brief bout of laughter.

"But you do think perhaps, Alice and I _could_ have more?" my insecurities were too strong for me not to voice them, and Angela had thus far proven herself to be trustworthy.

She smiled and nodded, "I think you two could have _everything._"

My smile widened at her words and we lapsed into a companionable silence.

...

"Why so serious?" a familiar voice whispered in my ear and I turned to see Alice grinning at me.

"May I join you?" She asked my human friends politely and they all seemed too dazzled by her to react, so I scooted to the side, making enough room on the bench for her to slip in. She nudged me in the ribs with her elbow, "So... you gonna to answer me?"

I blinked a few times, "I thought that that question was rhetorical."

She laughed, "Well, you thought wrongly."

Shrugging, a habit I had picked up from my human friends, I didn't answer and she scrunched her nose up. The way she always did when something I did, or didn't, do displeased her.

"Oh, come on, I haven't seen you looking that serious since, like, the first day!"

I raised an eyebrow at that, "And when exactly was that?"

She pursed her lips tightly, "When you were walking to the front office after school."

"You saw me?"

She nodded sheepishly, "From the car."

I nodded and played with my food a little more. Just then Angela leant over me to address us in a manner that would not be overheard, "You two aren't going to start feeding each other are you? Because you totally seem like the couple to do that." She teased and Alice gave her a surprised look.

"What do you mean?"

Angela's grin widened, "You didn't think I wouldn't pick up on this," she waved her hand between us, "chemistry you two have going on?"

If it had been possible Alice would have been blushing heavily as she bit her lips and ducked her head a little.

"Is it that obvious?" She whispered to Angela who shook her head.

"No, not at all, I just happen to be very observant -"

"And a bit of a stalker." I added and she elbowed me indignantly. I shifted with the nudge, preventing her from hurting herself, and keeping up the appearance that she would be able to move me.

"I am so not a stalker!"

Alice giggled, "You totally are; I mean, every time I enter Chemistry, you're there! And this cafeteria. And the parking lot. You're there no matter when I turn around!"

Angela gave her a look that clearly said 'are you serious?' and snorted, "You do realise that's because we have the same class third period, and lunch, and the school day ends at the same time?"

Alice nodded, "Of course. But that doesn't explain why you're constantly shadowing me between periods."

Angela scoffed, "You're just being ridiculous now, and besides I think you have me confused with another brunette of shorter stature."

Alice raised her eyebrows, and I could tell she knew where this was heading although I wasn't entirely sure. The entire conversation was ridiculous; the things they were saying were not at all logical. While I understood teasing, and most recently sarcasm, this type of banter was beyond me so I simply listened in and attempted to understand the point of the conversation. Although the more I listened to and heard, the less sense it made.

"And which brunette would that be?"

"The one hanging onto your every word." Angela teased and Alice laughed.

"But you're the one doing that..." Alice retorted and Angela pushed her.

"No I am not!"

"Then how are you able to reply in a manner that allows this conversation to flow, if you weren't paying attention to what I am saying?"

Angela frowned, "But then that would mean you in turn are hanging off my every word..."

Alice laughed, waving her hand off to brush aside Angela's words, "Don't be absurd. I can multi-task, so therefore you aren't monopolising the entirety of my attention span."

"And now I'm just offended. Am I not good enough to pay sole attention too?"

Alice paused, pursing her lips as though considering Angela's words seriously. "No," she answered, "It's not that you're not _good_ enough to hold all my attention, it's just that there is someone so much more appealing to give the majority of my attention too."

"And this person would be?" Angela smirked.

Alice leant forwards and whispered, "Bella Swan of course." in her ear, giggling like a school girl. Which I suppose was what she was meant to be.

"Why do I get the distinct feeling you two are discussing me?" I chipped in, finally understanding some part. Alice had just paid me a compliment.

"Because we are." Angela answered and sniggered at my frown.

"It's impolite to discuss me while I am present."

"No, it's impolite to eavesdrop." Alice shot back and gave me a smile.

"But I'm not eavesdropping. I was merely making an observation that I became aware that the direction of your nonsensical conversation began involving me, and as I do not like being discussed behind my back, or to my face, without my own involvement I felt compelled to subtly tell you to cease."

"I think that's the longest speech I have ever heard you speak." Was Angela's answer and Alice burst into fits of laughter. I huffed and folded my arms in a petulant manner and began pouting like a young child.

Alice used this to further embarrass me by squeezed my cheek and cooing in a babyish manner, "Uhh, did we hurt Bella-wella's feelings?"

I poked my tongue out at her.

"Do that again and I'll be forced to bite it off." Alice threatened and challenging her, I repeated the action. To which Alice leant forwards and snapped her teeth at me, less than an inch from my tongue. I flicked back into my mouth, but Alice did not move from her close proximity, her breath brushing against my lips.

All it would take was for me to lean forwards for our lips to connect, but the overwhelming knowledge that I was in a public room, with several eyes already on me had me turning my face away, blushing profusely. And although Alice knew I was a vampire, knew my heart did not really beat and the blush was not really there, she could not help reacting to it the way any vampire would. Her eyes darkened and I felt a slight change in the atmosphere.

Controlling herself she exhaled shakily and leant back, laughing dryly to ease the discomfort of the table.

Angela was watching us carefully, her expression unreadable but not shocked or disgusted as many of the other expressions of the persons watching our little interaction were displaying.

Embarrassed by the continued attention I bent over my plate and feigned eating, whereas I was simply moving the food around the plate. Alice cleared her throat and spoke to me, her tone neutral.

"Will you be coming over after school?"

I lifted my fork and twirled it, nodding absently.

"Yes, if that is alright?"

Alice smiled, "If it were a problem, I wouldn't have invited you."

The day had passed rapidly, surprisingly so, and Alice was eager to arrive home. She met me outside of Biology after Edward had given me a one hour verbal ear-beating. Now that he had grown past my scent, or at least gotten more accustomed to it, he was not shy at all in his attempts to engage me in conversation. Even if said conversations revolved around the weather and such.

General courtesy compelled me to endure his constant attentions and subtle flirtations but by the end of the hour I very nearly collapsed into Alice's arms with relief that I was freed.

Alice laughed, understanding my expression and linked arms with me, skipping towards her Porsche.

...

It was approximately two minutes before we reached the turn off into her driveway when I smelt his scent.

It was powerful, strong and very recent. The only reason I had caught it was because I had opened the window, wanting to feel the wind on my face and whipping through my hair.

Panicking I grabbed her arm, forcing her to slow the car and pull over, her eyes widening in response to my panic.

"Alice, what is Jasper doing near your home?"

Her eyes widened further in surprised excitement, "Jasper is visiting? – wait, how do you know Jasper?"

"He's the friend I visited in Seattle," I hissed and could tell she was failing to see the seriousness of the situation.

"Oh, wow it is a small world after all" She laughed but stopped when she realised I wasn't sharing her amusement.

"He doesn't know that I live here, or that I am playing a human."

Comprehension dawned on her and she slowed the car, "So what do we do? If we walk in there now he's going to recognise you, and Edward is home. There is no way you can avoid exposure."

"I can hide myself, you get him on his own and I'll speak with him."

She nodded and then frowned, "How can you hide yourself?"

A smirk tugged at my lips, "If I can alter your perception of my physique it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that I should be able to 'cloak' myself entirely from your senses."

I proved my point by raising my shield entirely, cutting off all her senses to my presence.

"Bella?" Alice called out in shock, reaching out to grab me.

Her hands clutched at my biceps, but to her it would feel as though she was literally holding onto air.

"Geez, this is seriously creepy. I can't so much see and feel you, but I can feel the resistance in the air where I'm gripping."

I lowered my shield, reappearing in front of her and nodded, "Like I explained, I can't physically disappear, but I can alter your senses to believe that I am no longer here. You touched me, but your sense of touch was telling your mind that there was nothing there to feel."

She nodded and moved the gearstick back into gear, her topaz eyes watching mine. Making sure I was ready. I nodded and stepped out of the car before engaging my shield completely.

"Take him into your room." I told her before running beside her car, keeping speed with it without effort.

I had originally planned to wait for him in her room, but now I was simply curious to see how he knew the Cullens, and how they interacted with each other.

...

"Where's Bella?" Edward instantly asked Alice before she had even closed the door. She finished closing it and smiled cheekily.

"What, no 'good evening Alice, how was your day?' Because it was lovely by the way."

He didn't even smile, "Answer the question, Alice."

Alice sighed dramatically, "I dropped her home because she wasn't feeling well, and besides it's a bit of a foolish idea to allow a human as sweet smelling as Bella, into our home when we have a not-completely-'vegetarian' currently visiting."

At that a familiar deep throated chuckle sounded and Jasper entered the front foyer, "Will I ever be able to surprise you?"

She smiled, "Oh, I was surprised, when I first got the vision of your decision to visit."

He smiled wider and opened his arms to embrace her. She did so enthusiastically, leaping into his arms and wrapping hers around his neck.

"I missed you," He breathed into her ear and I sensed that perhaps there was more to their relationship than mere friendship as Alice had first implied. This was a surprise to me, as neither Jasper nor Alice had mentioned any past romance.

But then it wasn't as though either of them knew that I knew the other so they wouldn't find it necessary to inform me. But it bothered me seeing the intimacy of the embrace, the way Jasper caressed the small of Alice's back, and the way Alice buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent.

"I missed you as well; you take far too long intermissions between visits."

"Yes, well I apologise for that, but I cannot promise that I will increase the frequency of my visits."

Alice huffed and pouted like a child before beaming again, "You _must_ see the new sketches I've been working on."She tugged on his arm insistently, leading him away, "I've had over 6 years to get more done."

Jasper followed along, obviously unbothered by the bouncing pixie towing him.

As soon as the door was closed Alice turned serious.

She lowered her voice and spoke sternly, "How competent are you at controlling your thoughts around Edward?"

Obviously taken-aback by her sudden change in manner he considered her question seriously.

"I am well adapted to alerting my thoughts in Edward's presence. Why do you -"

He didn't get to finish before I had dropped my shield. I was standing to Alice's left and he started.

Before he opened his mouth I raised a hand, "The others will not hear me and I think I have your mind partially shielded from Edward, but as I have never manipulated my shield in this manner I ask you keep your thoughts controlled." It was something I had been experimenting with but it was difficult to judge whether or not it worked as Edward's composure at school was nearly flawless.

It wasn't as though he could come to the table we sat at to ask Alice why her thoughts had disappeared.

"Aside from Alice the Cullen's do not know I am a vampire and so I ask you to assist in keeping it this way."

Jasper nodded in understanding, his eyebrows pushed together, accentuating the two bite marks there. I knew he was concentrating his thoughts elsewhere, before smiling and hugging me.

"Well this is sooner than I expected to see you. Why hadn't you told me you were actually living amongst humans? And vampires for that matter."

I shrugged, "It hadn't seemed important enough to mention. And besides I would have thought you'd have figured it out for yourself, considering the sudden bank account activity with all the withdrawals and payment transactions happening in the space of a few months. But why hadn't you told me you knew of a way to exist without eating humans?"

My abrupt change in subject caused him to swallow convulsively.

"I may have set that up for you, but it doesn't mean I monitor it. That is what Jenks is for. As for the possibility of living off animals? Well, to be honest I haven't been the most studious and committed 'vegetarian' and I hadn't thought it would be something you'd have been interested in."

I looked at him incredulously, "Not interested in? Jasper, you can't possibly be serious? I am interested in everything vampire related, I may be older than you but I have had far less interaction with others. You are well aware that I covet every bit of information that I can get."

He ducked his head down in shame, "My apologises, Isabella. It was a thoughtless move on my part and I won't assume such things again."

His embarrassment over his lack of thought was obvious, and so I touched his forearm to gain his attention. His dark ruby eyes lifted and I waited for him to hold my gaze.

"Yes, Jasper, you were erroneous in your assumptions, but I do not believe you deliberately withheld information."

He smiled and I gave him a brief hug, a rare moment in which I initiated an embrace.

Pulling away I looked to Alice, who was looking between us, obviously feeling rather lost.

"So, Bella never mentioned how you two know each other."

Jasper raised one scar at me and I shrugged again, "I wasn't to know that you two knew each other so it wasn't like I needed to mention it."

He gave me a small smile before answering Alice's question, "Isabella is the reason I am no longer under Maria's rule."

Her eyes widened in wonder and her mouth dropped open, "Seriously?"

I ducked my head, blushing and Jasper growled.

"Oh, sorry!" I apologised and quickly lowered that part of my shield, "It is something I learnt to better blend in with the humans and it is now such a reflex I can forget I am doing it."

He nodded and cleared his throat, "That is a very clever, and rather unusual use of your power, but incredibly useful. But yes, Alice, Isabella aided in my escape."

"Care to explain, Bella?" she turned her attention to me and I sighed, "Fine.

"I had met Jasper in the Great Vampire Wars of the South. He had been a commander, a leader and director in the creating and training of newborns to aid Maria in overtaking the South...

_The first contact made with him was by mistake, I had been running through Mexico, and my shield had been malfunctioning. At the time I had not known it was because I had left feeding for too long as I had never before waited for long between meals. As soon as the burning in my throat increased I would quench it, in fact I doubted they had ever reached black._

_But because I was in the South, in the very middle of the territorial wars, I had not had a moment to feed because the place was swarming with active vampires, all guarding their property._

_I had not made contact with another vampire before; in fact I was terrified of them because of their similarities to the first vampire I'd met, the one who had changed me._

_So my shield was no longer protecting me from the residents and it was in a moment of weakness, a moment of pure, uncontrolled thirst that I lunged and fed. I had been so single-minded on the task of feeding, of drinking this human's blood I had failed to sense the approach of another vampire._

"_Ma'am?" A strangely calm and soothing voice called to me and my head snapped up._

_My teeth were still sunken in my meals neck and I let loose a deep throated growl of warning. The most basic instincts were driving me, self-preservation and to protect my kill._

_He ignored my verbal warning, taking another step forwards so I dropped the now drained corpse and stood in a defensive crouch. Growling continuously._

"_Ma'am?" He asked again and I snapped my teeth._

_I can't imagine what I must have appeared to him, my clothes in tatters. Actually, you couldn't have called them clothes. They were rags, barely clinging to my bloodied and muddied body. My hair was a mattered mess, not having been combed in centuries and my snarling and snapping like rabid animal._

_He continued to ignore me and stepped closer._

_Too close. My mind had screamed and I pounced forwards, thrusting my hand, open-palmed, into his chest. It connected with a thunderous crack and he was thrown several hundred metres from me._

_His surprise was laughable, though this was far from a humorous moment, but he stood up, brushed himself off and approached me again. I hissed and backed away. My instincts were out of control and the fight or flight was kicking in and I was leaning towards flight._

_He stepped closer, hands up in a non-threatening gesture but I cloaked and ran away, the need to run overpowering any other sense._

_Our next encounter was only a month later. It was in an abandoned, or seemingly abandoned, part of Mexico and I was searching for a quick meal. I wasn't comfortable enough to lower my shield so I was looking for an easy meal._

_A lone human that I could pick off out of sight._

_I had, for all appearances, found one. A young man walking through the dark, moonless night. I crept behind him, following him until he was completely out of sight and sound. Not that sound was an issue, it was easy enough to sever his vocal cords so he could not scream for aid, but I was patient enough to wait and stalk him._

_He was in an ideal position for me to strike and as I swept forwards I sensed the presence of another vampire. The scent was familiar and I was horrified to realise it was the same vampire who had confronted me a month ago._

_The blonde haired vampire leapt down from above and sunk his teeth deep into the man's neck. The force of his teeth chomping down broke the human's neck, ending his life instantly. Furious, I punched the taller immortal in the face and he smashed into the wall behind him with a loud crash._

_He staggered to his feet and looked around wildly._

"_Who's there?" He cried into the night and I hissed._

_My temper was raging and I lifted my shield in a display of arrogance and faced off against him._

_He had pissed me off royally and needed punishment._

_His crimson eyes widen in recognition and he mirrored my aggressive stance._

"_You!" _

_I bared my teeth and charged forwards._

_His soldiering instincts kicked in as he blocked my first and second strike before head butting me brutally. _

_Now, this man, I could tell, was an experienced fighter. His stance and alert eyes gave this away._

_But I too, was experienced._

_He had interrupted my meal, actually taken my meal from me, and that just didn't sit with me._

_Allowing him to get in a bone-crunching kick to my ribs, I flew back and hit the alley wall._

_He was strong, and knew where to strike for maximum damage. I wanted to see what else he could do._

_Sliding down I smiled at him before charging forwards._

_Furious blows were exchanged, but after he had hit my face twice now, I lost patience and grabbed his shirt, lifted him off of his feet and slammed him into the wall._

_It crumbled and I leapt back as the building collapsed on top of the blonde._

_Once the dust had settled the soldier rose from the rumble and gave me a look of complete surprise and awe._

_I clenched my fists and moved to attack again, but his raised hands made me pause._

"_Ma'am," He called, "Ma'am, please I mean you no harm! I did not know you were hunting that man, I did not mean to take away your meal."_

_His southern drawl was calm and peaceful as he matched every step forwards of mine with a retreat of his own._

_I glared as I felt something push against my shield. He was gifted, and was attempting to push his gift on me._

"_Please, Ma'am my name is Jasper Whitlock. I do not wish to have to destroy you, but if you continue to attack me, you leave me no choice."_

_His words caused me to burst into fits of laughter. If he had been expecting anything from me, it had not been for me to laugh._

_I laughed long and hard, clutching at my sides and I failed to cease._

"_Uh, ma'am?" 'Jasper' asked hesitantly and I sobered up._

"_You truly believe you could destroy me?" I asked the first words I had spoken to him yet._

_He smiled confidently, "Yes. I work with newborns and I am well accustomed to dispatching of them."_

_I eyed him critically. He gave off an air of calm confidence; his hair was a golden honey shade, his eyes dark red, bordering black indicating he needed to feed soon. His physique was tall, standing at over 6 feet, and he was lean, muscular like every other vampire but not a threatening bulk. However I did not let this betray the fact that he was a vampire with vampiric strength and speed. His scars, several bite marks on his jaw, cheeks and even eyebrow and forehead, proved his words to be true._

_I could tell that he truly believed that he could destroy me and it was so amusing I was struck with an urge that was completely foreign but delightfully tempting. _

_I decided to tease him._

_Cloaking I dashed forwards and whispered in his ear, "How can you kill what you cannot see, hear or feel?" I teased and flicked his coat._

_He spun and grabbed out, grasping nothing but air as I swept his ankles and he stumbled._

"_How are you doing his and how can I not feel you?" He called into the night and I laughed._

"_You are gifted, so why do you question how I am gifted?" I answered and flicked his hair before scooping up a handful of mud and throwing it at him. Granted he did dodge it with impressive agility, but he was not quick enough for the second ball._

"_What are you doing?" He cried into the night after a third successful hit, his uniform now adorning three muddy splotches._

"_Playing," I replied and heaved another one, to which he caught and threw straight back, where I been seconds before._

"_How can I play when I can't see who I'm playing with?" He teased and I laughed and finally uncloaked. Reappearing with my face inches from his._

_His eyes widened in shock and mine mirrored his as he wiped his muddy hand over the remaining of my shirt. I squealed and pushed him away, ducking under his next playful swipe at smearing his other hand on my face._

_I wasn't sure who started to laugh first, but soon we were giggling like young children, chasing each other around._

_Eventually I grew bored and noticed the change in light. _

_The sun was beginning to rise._

_Jasper ceased with me and straightened, watching me with a strange expression._

"_So what is your name?" he asked and I laughed, realizing I had not even introduced myself. By this time I had chosen a name that I had heard years ago, one that I liked more than the others._

"_Isabella," I answered and gave him a slight curtsy._

_He bowed his head, "Just Isabella?"_

_I nodded, "I do not see the need for a second name for the time being."_

_The name had taken my fancy when I'd travelled through Italy, centuries and centuries ago. I had heard it spoken when I bypassed Napoli. Italy hadn't held much interest and so I'd only really passed through it once or twice, but that name had stuck in my mind._

_He smiled and I noticed his eyes swept down and back up my body._

"_Isabella, you are in sore need of a bath and a new dress, would you accompany to my residence where I have the appropriate facilities at my disposal?"_

_His proposition was tempting because although I could not feel the dirt that clung to my marble skin, or the mud, leaves and God knows what else entangled in my hair, I knew my dress was no longer able to be called a dress. It could not even be called a rag as it was merely tattered remains and it was amazing that it still held to my form._

_Deciding on a whim that this particular vampire was trustworthy I nodded, but not before asking if there would be other vampires at this... residence he would take me to._

"_Yes there will be, but if that is objectionable to you then feel free to use that... power of yours to slip in unnoticed." He offered me his hand which I did not take, but simply followed him at his side with enough distance between us that we would not accidently touch. Talking and being in his company was one thing but physical contact was an entirely different issue for me. I would not forget that he was still a vampire, every bit as much a male vampire as the other._

_I followed him in silence, uncomfortable about being in near sunlight and in the company of another, although Jasper had proven he was trustworthy, or at least not intent on harming me._

"_So why does my gift not work on you?"_

_I shrugged, "I'm not sure, perhaps it is another part to my... shield. The one that allows me to become invisible by your eyes and ears. But what is your ability?"_

"_I am an empath. I can feel the emotions of those around me and manipulate them to suit myself."_

_I nodded, "So what has that to do with working with newborns?"_

_His expression became stony then, "I am a soldier under the command of Maria. I am in charge of creating and training newborns to serve her in her fight to own these lands."_

_I nodded, aware of the war raging and understanding now why he seemed depressed almost._

"_And you use your empathy to calm the newborns so that they may be better commanded and trained for Maria's planned attack."_

_He nodded, keeping his eyes straight ahead._

"_So what are you doing in these lands? I have not seen you here before."_

_I smirked, "Of course you have not. No one, who still lives, has ever seen me before now. I am a nomad." I answered vaguely, only slightly dishonestly, and he respected my silence and we lapsed back into a companionable silence._

_He led me to an old abandoned warehouse of sorts. Or at least from the outside that is what it appeared to be I could smell the large number of vampires within the building and instinctively I raised my shield._

_I was impressed to see Jasper did not react to my sudden disappearance, but simply led me through into the building. My senses had been correct; there were at least 30 vampires in what could only be described as a cage. Large metallic beams stood from the floor to the roof, enclosing all of the snarling, biting vampires. There was a single door, constructed of the same metal, on hinges and I watched as a tall male vampire with silver blond hair manhandles a snapping vampire into the enclosure._

_Once he had closed the door he turned to Jasper, smiling, "Ah, I thought I smelt you..." He trailed off as he took in Jasper's mudded attire, "What happened to you?"_

_Jasper gave him a wry smile, "I got into a fight with a vampire." He answered truthfully, although the fight had been playful._

"_Really now, were they easily dispatched of?"_

"_One could say that. Regardless I am going to clean myself up, are the newborns under control?"  
The male nodded, "For now, I'm sure you will be able to tell if they start misbehaving."_

_Without further words Jasper turned and walked up some stairs. Stairs in such bad shape I was unsure it would support our combined weight walking up them._

_Thankfully they held together and I followed the blonde vampire into a small room. Much like the rest of this building, the walls were mouldy; crumbling and some planks of wood had chunks missing from them. But it had a human sized metal tub in the corner, and Jasper had lit a fire opposing the bath. There was a large metallic tub that was filled with water. He lifted it effortlessly onto the fire._

"_Wait for the water to boil then pour half of it into that tub. The other half can be used to rinse yourself and I will place some clothes for you to wear outside. Do not worry about Peter or anyone else coming up as I will stand guard." He whispered the instructions so low only I could have heard him and then left me, closing the door behind him._

_As instructed I waited until the water was bubbling furiously before lifting the tub and pouring half its contents into the larger one. Stripping myself of the remaining rags I stepped in and lay back, surprised I could lie entirely on my back. Obviously this barrel had been shaped and sized to fit a man of Jaspers height and size, so I was swallowed entirely._

_The hot water was incredible, it heated my skin and I felt almost as though I could relax. Although my muscles felt no tension, so there was no need for them to relax, but it was an incredible sensation._

_I soaked my hair, ridding it of the build up of mud, grime and other things. I was careful not to tug my fingers through it, as I did not want to pull any strands out. After over 2000 years, I had noticed my hair did not grow, and if it did not grow then any lost strands would not be replaced._

_Once I noticed the water was no longer warming me, I rinsed myself with the remaining water in the other tub by pouring it over my body, and stepped out._

_True to his word Jasper had left a full outfit of clothing outside my door, and on top of the pile was a device I had seen other females, of human and vampire kind, use on their hair. A hairbrush I believed it was referred to as._

_The thoughtfulness of Jaspers actions were touching and I stood in front of the mirror, running the brush through my hair, beginning from the bottom I was incredibly careful with each stroke._

_Once I had completed the task I lifted my shield and exited the room._

"_I have finished." I announced to Jasper and he jumped at the sound of my voice, having not heard my approach._

"_Did you enjoy the bath?" He asked politely, speaking in a low tone, in the direction I had spoken from. Altering my shield, I allowed only him to see me._

"_I did, and I extend my gratitude for the brush. It has been far too long since I have had the privilege of grooming myself correctly."_

_He bowed his head, "What are your plans? I still feel rude for having taken your meal from you earlier, so I extend an invitation to accompany me on a hunting trip."_

_A smile stretched my lips, "I admit that I do like the idea of that, but let us not roll in any mud as I have just gotten myself clean."_

_He chuckled lightly and offered his arm, this time I took it, looping my arm round his._

"_Peter, I will be going hunting." He announced and the silver blonde man looked up in surprise, "But you just returned..."_

"_Yes and I have decided to go again. Although I may bring back some additions. We are still behind schedule; Maria has demanded we have 50 newborns by the end of this month. With three days per change, I think we need to increase the amount of humans changing at one time."_

_As surprised as the vampire, who answered by Peter, was by Jaspers announcement, he did not argue and simply nodded, turning back to punish a particularly aggressive newborn who had taking to snapping his teeth at the older vampire._

_Once we were outside, and a comfortable distance from the premises Jasper spoke._

"_So where would you like to hunt?"_

"_I am not sure. I am still unfamiliar with this terrain so perhaps you should continue to lead."_

_He gave a slight smile and turned, leading us down a path worn in from usage._

"_There is a small village down here, not many inhabitants, but enough that we can pick off a few and it not be thoroughly investigated. I suggest we pick off a slave or two."_

_I nodded in agreement and decided to hunt without my shield; I had not done this before so it would be an entirely new experience for me to need to actually lure my prey out._

_My chosen meal was a young, masculine male of tall statue. It was easier than I had anticipated, luring him out and getting him alone. All that I had needed to do was batter my lashes and smile sweetly. He followed me, as I danced away, like a lost puppy. Knowing he was alone I latched onto his neck, piecing his jugular vein and drinking to my thirst's content. His blood was exquisitely sweet, soothing and I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand once he was emptied and lifeless._

_I disposed of his body by ripping his limbs apart and leaving them scattered for wild animals to feed off._

"_You finished quickly," Jasper commented as he towed a young girl behind him. The glow of his red eyes indicated he too had already fed, so I presumed this would be a newborn to add to his growing army._

"_Yes, I found this means of hunting to be more fun... almost like a game." I replied and Jasper nodded in understanding._

"_Shall we return?" He asked, his hand still clasped in the girls, who had not spoken but had not taken her eyes off of Jasper. Enthralled by his vampiric beauty no doubt._

_I nodded again, holding my shield above me so the human would not have seen me. Jasper would only ever be the only vampire who would know I existed._

... "And so I kept hidden. As I said, no other vampire knew of my existence and often Jasper was accused of going mad because he was overheard speaking to himself."

Alice was sitting on her bed, listening intently to my tale. Jasper was now staring out the window, obviously remembering his time in Maria's army for himself.

"For over a year I stayed in his company while he trained and created newborns for Maria's army. By the ending of that year I could see a change in Jasper, he was becoming depressed. I of course confronted him about this and he admitted he was struggling with the fact that he could constantly feel the emotions of the humans he bit, and he was in constant pain when they went through the change.

"I suggested he leave"...

"_I can't possibly leave, Isabella. Maria would never allow it as I am her top commander, her best soldier. I am far too valuable to her for her to allow me to leave." Jasper replied and I nodded in understanding._

"_But you cannot possibly continue to do this to yourself, Jasper, I can see your depression. And besides it is not as though someone leaving has not happened before. Just a month ago you aided in Peter and Charlottes escape."_

_He nodded and I could sense the loneliness. It was obvious how much he missed Peter, "Yes but that was only to help Peter, as she was planning to kill her."_

"_But it _can_ be done. And I can assist you. She cannot defend herself from something she cannot see. In fact we can even make it seem as though it is an evolvement of your own ability if need be."_

_Jasper didn't reply, he just stared off into the night. It was easy for me to read that he was seriously considering my words. Thinking over them. Planning. It was the soldier within him that could not simply dismiss my words._

"_But where would I go? This is the only life I have ever known..." He trailed off, and I sensed the underlying fear of the unknown._

"_Travel with me if you must," I answered indifferently, "I have travelled all over, but I find your company agreeable."_

_Jasper chuckled lightly, "Let me think about it."_

"_What is there to think about? You either leave or you do not."_

"_Isabella, this is all I have ever known. Maria is my creator, my commander. I cannot simply up and leave her."_

"_What else are you to do? You just said yourself that she would not allow you to leave, so what would staying here do? It is not as though you could ask permission to leave, not as though she would grant you a free pass."_

_Jasper's jaw clenched, his fists tightened and he stood. His stiff posture evidence of the extreme stress and agitation he was experiencing._

"_It's not as simple as that! You can't possibly understand what it is like to have an attachment outside of yourself Isabella, so do not speak to me as though this decision is anything other than difficult. You have been on your own for however long so you wouldn't have even the slightest inkling what it is like to leave someone behind." He hissed at me venomously and I recoiled as though slapped._

_The silence dropped between us and after some time I spoke, nothing above a whisper, "There you are wrong, Jasper. What else but you could have kept me here for over a year? You believe I have no attachments, then why have I not moved on." I stood then, facing away from him, "You want time to think about leaving Maria, this I understand so I give you a week. Seven days from now I will return and hear your decision."_

_With a curt nod I shielded myself entirely and leapt off the roof into the night. It was the roof of an adjacent building to his warehouse, where the newborns were kept. We had made a habit of meeting there to converse, or simply to enjoy one another's company and stare at the night sky._

_An entire week I did wait before returning to the roof. I sat there for the day, watching as humans ran about, interacting with each other. It wasn't until the sun was setting that he leapt to the roof. He sat beside me, even though he could not sense me._

_I lowered my shield and was impressed to see he did not jump or react in any way._

_He did not speak for some time, so I allowed him to collect his thoughts and simply enjoyed being in his presence, watching the sunset together._

"_Firstly, Isabella, I would like to apologise for my behaviour last week. I was... inconsiderate and offensive, but you were right, about Maria. She will not allow me to leave without a fight, so I suggest we run. We run tonight."_

_His decision was not surprising, but it was pleasant and so I stood, offering him my hand._

"_And so tonight we run."_

_He nodded, and I cloaked myself to the world except for him, and leapt off the roof..._

"We escaped without confrontation and after years of travelling, we ran into Peter and Charlotte. There we went our separate ways, as I was still reluctant to interact with other vampires and Jasper missed being able to interact with someone other vampires could actually see. We made an agreement to meet up every decade or so.

"It was maybe 60 years ago that Jasper came to me with an idea that on the perchance I should settle somewhere, I would need financial support. He organised a trustworthy friend to organise the set up of a bank account in my name. Or at least my family name. That was when I adopted the name Swan, and that is how I have managed to pay my way."

I finally finished my tale and Alice was still staring at me wide eyed, "Wow there is _so_ much I don't know about you. Either of you."

Jasper and I shared a smile before a disturbing memory came forth, "Now that you know my story, Alice how exactly do you know Jasper?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

The room was silent as Alice sat on the foot of her bed, legs folded under her, leaning on her left arm while the other rested on her lap and her fingers traced patterns onto her thigh.

I listened to the activities of the rest of the house. Rosalie and Emmett were in the lounge, lounging most likely. Carlisle sounded as though he had moved back to his study, Esme into her room and Edward seemed to be pacing in his bedroom down the hall.

Just as Alice was about to begin speaking I held my hand up, cutting her off and shielding myself completely.

Edward had moved from pacing in his room, to walking towards Alice's room. I hastily threw her sketch book to her just before there was a soft knock on the door.

Alice looked up from her book and called for him to enter.

He did so, with a surprised look on his face.

"What can I do for you, Edward?" Alice asked politely, closing her book and placing it beside her, and he frowned.

"I... can't seem to hear your thoughts, or Jasper's."

Her eyebrows rose in mock-surprise, "Oh, is that so? Are your powers malfunctioning?"

Edward gritted his teeth, "No, I hear Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett fine. It is only you two that are complete blanks. It is as though you are not even here."

"That is troublesome. First Bella and now us, too? Perhaps there is an error in your power?" Alice responded in a falsely polite tone.

"There is _nothing_ wrong with my gift. The only explanation I have is that you two are deliberately blocking me!"

"But how could we possibly do that? I mean, sure I can keep some of the more, personal information from you. But I have never been able to completely block you out."

Edward frowned, "We need to consult Carlisle about this. It is a troublesome matter."

Alice smiled, "Not to me. For once I apparently don't need to censure my thoughts around you, so why do I need to discuss this matter with Carlisle?"

"Because I am your brother! And apparently -" He snapped before Alice cut him off.

"Apparently your powers are malfunctioning. I am not doing anything abnormal so this is essentially your problem, Edward. Not mine."

He growled under his breath, "When did you get to be so selfish? Had this happened a decade ago you would have been the first to volunteer assisting me in discovering the cause for this... glitch, and now? Now you're too concerned with showing off your little sketches to Jasper."

Alice raised an eyebrow before standing and crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you need a reminder that my powers are not functioning normally either? I can't see any kind of future that involves Bella, but you don't see me making a huge fuss over it. This blank in my visions does not affect you, anymore than your inability to read me affects me."

Edward's chest rumbled, "Those blanks are dangerous! And if you fail to see the potential danger in it then your feelings for Bella are clouding your judgement and so I'm telling you -"

For the second time Alice interrupted Edward curtly, "Do not finish that sentence, Edward, you are not my keeper. You have no say in my relations with anyone outside or even within this family, and so you have no right to even 'suggest' I cancel my friendship with her."

The telepath's jaw clenched tight, and I could hear his teeth scraping over each other.

"She is a potential threat to our family, Alice. You can't honestly believe you can continue this friendship with her and continue to keep our secret from her. She is an observant human and it is only a matter of time before she questions your humanity, and you know the rules."

For the first time during their confrontation Alice broke eye contact with her brother. She pursed her lips and clenched her fists, "I am well aware of the rules, _Edward._ But I have everything under control, and I haven't broken any as of yet. I will cross that bridge if or when I come to it."

Edward's eyes drifted to Jasper momentarily, and even though no words were verbalised, his meaning was clear.

Alice leapt to his defence, hissing at Edward with undisguised impatience, "Don't even go there, Edward. Jasper would never turn me into them."

'_Them_.' I didn't understand Alice's reference then and I stored that question away to ask about later.

"He wouldn't have to do it on purpose. All it would take is one simple touch."

Again, it was a reference I didn't know about and this lack of knowledge vexed me. Jasper had obviously neglected to tell me something else.

The man in question intervened then, even without being able to sense her emotions, he could read Alice well enough to know that she was close to attacking her brother.

"That is a highly unlikely occurrence, Edward and it is not as though I have any reason to travel to Italy anytime soon. This argument is moot."

Edward regarded Jasper seriously before nodding slightly and turning around. He exited the room as close to silently as a vampire can get and Alice breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was intense." She muttered and Jasper chuckled lightly.

"Yes, well you were antagonising him so don't tell me you did not expect him to retaliate. We both know he has a temper."

"And apparently a crush on Bella." Her lips twitched then and Jasper mirrored her expression, both apparently seeing the amusing side of this.

"I'm glad to see you find this so amusing." I spoke for the first time, still hidden from sight and they both turned to where the sound of my voice came from.

"Well, it _is_ amusing considering the hypocrisy of Edward's recriminations. He's telling me off for spending time with you, when if you showed any remote interest in him, he would be doing the exact same thing." Alice replied in my general direction, unaffected by the fact she was seemingly talking to no one.

"Apparently I am showing some interest as he has taken to stalking me and that will make it difficult to hide the damage to my kitchen..." I trailed off as I dropped my shield and Jasper gave me a puzzled look.

"I threw Alice through my wall in my house and have yet to clean up."

Jasper's eyebrows rose far up on his forehead as he processed my words.

"You threw Alice through your wall, why?"

I ducked my head in furious embarrassment.

"She... caught me off guard." I answered vaguely and Jasper knew me well enough to know I was not comfortable admitting how exactly Alice managed to catch me off guard. He understood my jumpy nature and that if anything happened to me, beyond my expectations or preparation, I usually responded with violence.

He nodded in acceptance and turned back to Alice, "You were to explain to Isabella how we know one another?"

Her eyes twinkled in memory and she bounced back onto the bed.

"It was a dark, stormy Thursday night..." She began ominously and I couldn't contain my snort of laughter. She shot me a look, telling me to hold my tongue and I made a display of figuratively zipping my lips.

"As I was saying, it was close to fifty years ago, on a dark and stormy night -"

"I seem to remember it being a foggy afternoon." Jasper interrupted and Alice glared.

"If you want to tell the story feel free," she huffed and waved for him to continue. He smiled, "I am only making sure you are narrating correctly,"

"But it makes the story so much more ominous and exciting if I make it a dark, stormy night. Foggy afternoons do not coincide with the stereotypical settings for meetings of the dark creatures of the night."

"But we are all 'dark creatures of the night' here and we are all aware of the incorrectness of those stereotypes. If you support them by setting our story in such a way, then how will we ever overthrow such stereotypes? As ridiculous as some of them may be." He crossed his arms and scoffed, "An aversion to garlic and crosses indeed."

Alice gave a cheeky smile, "But if I remember as a human you never like garlic and religion anyway. So being that kind of a vampire isn't much of a stretch?"

He huffed, "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

"By saying that, you did dignify it!"

As much as I was finding their banter amusing, I was very curious to discover how they came to meet considering the evidence in front of me was suggesting they knew each other very well.

"As entertaining as your banter is, Alice, you were saying?"

The bouncing pixie stilled on her bed and pursed her lips once more.

"Since Jasper so rudely ruined my introduction and seems determined to make sure I don't spice things up I guess I'm forced to give you the facts. It _was_ approximately fifty years that we meet. I began being plagued by visions."

Jasper scoffed, interrupting again, "_'Plagued' _is putting it a bit strongly isn't it? It isn't as though you disliked your visions of me."

"_Jasper!_" Alice scorned, "Stop interrupting me for goodness sake and let me tell the story. You didn't do this to Bella when she was narrating!"

"Because I know Bella wouldn't simply verbalise her annoyance, she has more... effective ways of maintaining my silence, and besides it's just so much fun winding you up."

She glared him into submission before turning back to me, noticing for the first time that I was struggling to contain my laughter.

"Oh, don't you start too!"

I raised my hands in surrender and gestured for her to continue.

"Yes, well, as I was saying it was fifty years -"

"You said approximately fifty." I interjected helpfully and the murderous look she gave me sent Jasper off.

"Honestly you two are worse than preschool children! Am I going to have to tell Bella this story without you in the room, Jasper?"

"I can't allow you to make me leave, Alice, dear, I need to be here to be sure you're telling it right, and not leaving out any significant details."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation, "My memory is as clear as yours, Jasper."

He nodded, "Agreed, but we both know you have a knack for over-exaggerating or even leaving out thinks that would cause you embarrassment."

My interest was perked then and I directed my question to Jasper, "What could possibly have embarrassed Alice enough that she wouldn't be willing to share?"

"Oh, shut up the both of you and let me speak." Pointing her finger sharply at us both she added sternly, "And no more interruptions."

"Yes, ma'am." Jasper and I responded, giving her a salute.

Rolling her eyes again she started up again for the fifth or sixth time.

"It was a _foggy_ afternoon, _nearing_ fifty years ago when I meet Jasper. I had been _plagued_ by visions that made little sense for months. Visions that were... vague at best, irrelevant at worst. All I ever saw was an unfamiliar forest, the scenery was not unique, so there were no defining landmarks that could give me an inkling as to where it was, but in every vision it was raining with thick mud lining the forest floor, and for a brief second I could see the flash of blonde hair and a black trench coat. It was only ever a flash, and always the back of an obviously male figure.

"After maybe a month of these useless and elusive visions I decided to hunt down the man, it was clear I was meant to meet him. So I set out and explored every damn forest in America. If I didn't find him, I go cross-country try overseas forests, but luckily for me I found him only four months after I began scouring the plains.

"He was in a forest in the outskirts of Philadelphia. The rain had been torrential; so heavy the ground couldn't even be described as ground, all it was was a huge landscape made up of mud. I happened upon him lying on his back in the mud, staring at the sky as puddles accumulated around him.

"'You'll catch your death lying there in this weather,' I called to him and he barely acknowledged me, simply turned his eyes to look at me. 'It is not as though death catches us easily.' He spoke after some time.

"I crouched over him, 'that I agree with, but why then, are you lying in the mud? It's not very becoming.'

"After some time had passed he sat up, his head bowed and I could literally _feel_ the crushing depression he was in.

"Regarding him curiously I hoped to my feet and offered him my hands, 'you seem like someone who needs a friend. What bothers you so?'

"Reluctantly he took my offered hands and I discovered he was a lot taller than I had first presumed, towering over my 4'8" frame.

"We walked through the forest for some time before he sighed and turned to me, 'this may sound absurd but I can feel the emotions of those around me, I can feel them and manipulate them.'

"Surprised but pleased by his answer I waited for him to continue, but when he didn't I replied, 'well then you shouldn't have much difficulty believing that I get premonitions.'

"Raising his eyebrow he regarded me curiously, but also disbelievingly. 'You are telling me that you are a... psychic?'

"I gave him a coy smile before nodding, 'how do you think I knew to find you here?'

"His eyebrows rose in surprise, but his eyes were still disbelieving, 'I thought it was an accident. You were surprised to find me.' He stepped closer, 'I _know_ you were.'

"Shrugging I spun away, laughing 'yes, but that was only because you were lying in the mud. Anyone would have been surprised to find a vampire lying in the mud.' He gave me a wary, almost tired expression before pushing his hair from his eyes and following me.

"It was a long time into our meeting before he finally introduced himself properly, and explained exactly why he had been lying in the mud. His ability to feel the emotions of his victims meant that he felt their emotions as they died and this weighed heavily upon his mind regardless of the natural calling to humans blood.

"I then took the opportunity to tell him about my diet, that he can survive off of animal blood even though it doesn't taste as good, it satiates the thirst and lessens the guilt. Humans feed from animals, so why couldn't we?"

Alice paused then and I watched her as she looked to Jasper before sighing, "We travelled for a few years together, until I got a vision of the Cullen's and decided I wanted to live with them. I gave him an invitation to join me but he declined." Addressing Jasper directly she asked him why he had.

"Because I knew if I were to join those Cullen's you spoke of, with a mind-reader amongst them, I wouldn't be able to keep Isabella's existence secret. She had already entrusted me with her past and I wouldn't risk her exposure." His explanation sounded plausible but I felt there was more to it than just that.

Alice and I both stared at him before she turned her curious topaz eyes on me, regarding me in that way that made me feel as though she could see something no one else could. I didn't falter under her intense gaze and waited for her to ask the questions that were obviously bubbling inside her mind.

"So, that's Jasper and I's story. Not nearly as action filled as yours but nonetheless you now know it." Was all she said, and I was oddly surprised by her restraint.

Perhaps she would corner me about it later, I knew her curiosity about my mysterious past was strong but she obviously respected, and knew, me well enough to understand when not to interrogate me. And since I had already revealed an important part of it, the first time I had ever publicized myself to another, I was reluctant to share more.

For over 2000 years I had been on my own, I had not interacted so the basics to socialising were not natural or easy for me. Even with Jasper I sometimes struggled to be open or trusting with him and while and while the fact that he understood and knew me better than any was sometimes an oddly comforting thought, it was also disconcerting and unfamiliar.

Realising that we had been up here for several hours, and that the sun would be setting soon, I knew I needed to return home and do something about my kitchen. Since Edward was back and I had a feeling that he would pick his stalking routine again, and he was sure to notice the disaster that was my kitchen.

"Alice, I need to return home but as soon as I leave and you two are out of my shield range, Edward will hear your thoughts again." Just as I finished my sentence we all heard the sound of several footsteps approaching. I shielded again, from Alice and Jasper this time and watched the door to see Rosalie and Emmett enter without knocking.

Rosalie assessed the room with a stony expression, and Emmett appeared to be mildly disappointed.

"You two have been awful quiet considering..." Rosalie spoke first, apparently highlighting what had Emmett disappointed because know he gave a sly smile.

Alice ignored Emmett's bouncing eyebrows and shrugged, "Not really, you guys must just have poor hearing."

The statuesque blonde raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow at her pixie sister, "Or you two were participating in an activity that doesn't require much... noise." Her smirk was what got to me; it was as though she were insinuating something that I didn't know about.

And it made Alice's eyes dart about the room, searching for any evidence that I was still in the room before she shifted in discomfort, or as much discomfit as a vampire can experience.

Obviously Rosalie's insinuation meant something, and Alice didn't want me to know exactly what.

"No, we weren't doing any of that." Alice replied and even Emmett appeared sceptical.

"Why not? It wouldn't be anything new."

And that was when Alice's jaw clenched tight and her stare became murderous. Yes, she suspected I was still in the room and by her reaction, there was no way I could misinterpret both Rosalie's and Emmett's insinuations.

Alice and Jasper's relationship had obviously moved into the physical realm at some point and I wondered why she hadn't mentioned this part to me before. I had noticed in the foyer that their hug had been a little too intimate and now here I had proof at some point they had had a relationship beyond that of friendship.

Surprisingly enough though, I found it did not bother me. While I was intrigued as to their reasoning behind keeping this fact from me, Alice's reaction to Emmett's words clarified to me that it was no more. At some point they must have reverted back to a friend-status relationship and with Emmett bringing it up, and in such a way that he was implying –

"You're well aware there has never been anything more than friendship between us Emmett, and Rosalie you're well aware I wouldn't do that to Bella."

Or perhaps I had misinterpreted her reaction. Feeling slightly embarrassed by my jumping to conclusions I decided it would do well to duck out now. I still needed to think of a plan to repair my kitchen without Edwards noticing, his persistence in pursuing me was testing my patience but I couldn't well risk him questioning me. Or suspecting anything above the norm.

...

On my return home I thought of a plan, and if it worked then Edward would not question me... but perhaps he will become obnoxiously protective.

Popping the lid of the truck's bonnet, I broke the brake cord and hopped into my truck. I reversed out of the driveway and accelerated down the street. Performing a clumsy U-turn, because the sheer bulk of the beast couldn't complete it in one attempt, I proceeded to race, or as close to racing as this roaring truck could get, back down the road and as I approached my house, jerked the steering wheel and slammed into the front of my house. Crashing straight through the kitchen the beast was brought to a halt by my sturdy fridge.

That was now so deformed, the door was partially open and its contents were falling out.

Satisfied with my job I pulled out my cellular phone and dialled in Alice's number.

Thankfully she answered on the second ring.

"Bella?" She answered in a slightly surprised tone.

"Um, Alice I think I'm going to need you and your families assistance."

"Oh, what's the problem?"

I took a deep breath, "I have kind of crashed my truck into the side of my house."

I heard the Cullen's different reacts through the phone as apparently they had all gathered around Alice when she spoke my name. Emmett and Jasper burst into bouts of bellowing laughter; Rosalie scoffed and commented that it was typical of the human. I could even hear Carlisle having a chuckle. Esme and Edward were concerned for my safety, both asking Alice if I was harmed, and Alice herself was snickering.

"How exactly do you 'kind of' crash into the side of your house?" Alice asked once she had controlled herself.

"I was driving too fast, and swerved to avoid a stray dog, lost control on the wet surface and drove through the front of my house. I am unharmed but I have thoroughly damaged my kitchen."

"That's a relief, Bella at least you are unharmed. We will come by straight away. Don't move, Carlisle wants to check you, but are you bleeding?"

"No as I said, I am unharmed."

"Alright, but don't move Bella, we will be there soon." She assured me and hung up.

I sighed and lay back to wait for them to arrive. It was a slight inconvenience that I could not disobey them without being scorned by, well, the entire family. They were all overprotective and constantly concerned over my wellbeing and there was no doubt in my mind that this little accident will give them cause to prevent me from driving for quite some time.

True to her word, Alice and her family appeared beside the site of my accident in less than fifteen minutes, a believable approximate of time it would take to exit the house and drive here. Carlisle took charge, asking me the basic medical questions; if I were injured or in any discomfort before allowing Emmett to wrench open the door and carry me out. I felt incredibly uncomfortable being handled in such a way, but it was necessary for me to continue with the charade. Alice couldn't likely have carried me when she was smaller if she were human, as I was supposed to believe.

I felt perhaps Emmett was enjoying this, white knight persona, thoroughly and would no doubt be giving me grief for a good couple of months.

"So will this mean you're going to need to get a ride with me every morning to get to school?" Alice teased as she sat on the couch beside me.

"I was doing that anyway, and besides I don't think the truck was even damaged except for some minor panel indentation."

"Hmm, perhaps we could get Rosalie to check it over because I find it difficult to believe that you lost control over swerving to avoid some small animal." She stroked a stray hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear before leaning in to kiss me lightly on my lips. It was soft, sweet and I reacted instinctively, my false heart beat picking up in speed before cupping her cheek and kissing her back.

I hadn't had many chances to try this, but it was certainly becoming more enjoyable and easy to do as time went by.

Alice pulled away when Carlisle entered and crouched in front of me, waving a small penlight back and forth between my eyes. Eyes that I rolled impatiently, "Dr. Cullen I did not hit my head, there is no need to test for a possible concussion."

He smiled before checking my pulse, which I made to be slightly accelerated. Once he was satisfied that I was unharmed he cocked an eyebrow.

"So explain to me how you managed to crash into your kitchen, when your driveway is beside the house, in front of the garage."

I ducked my head in embarrassment, "I was perhaps approaching my house at a higher velocity than appropriate for the conditions of the road when a small dog ran out in front of me. Not wanting to hit it, I swerved and slammed the brakes. Only the brakes failed, and so consequently I could not stop and simply drove into the front of my house."

He nodded in understanding, "Well, all things considered you should be pleased that the truck is not as damaged as it could be, since you obviously hit the house with speed. However, I can't comfortably allow you to continue living here without an operating kitchen, and with a hole in the house. So I extend an invitation for you to board with us until repairs can be made to the house."

Alice's eyes brightened enthusiastically at the thought of my spending even more time with her and she smiled at me with such excitement I didn't have much choice in accepting it.

"That is incredibly generous of you Carlisle, but I would not want to impose -"

"You won't be imposing on anything," Alice cut me off before I could finish; "Honestly none of us would have a problem with you staying for a few weeks."

I looked to the other members, especially Rosalie who was the only one thus far that was not entirely overjoyed in my presence. She wasn't exactly glaring, but nor was she welcoming me with open arms. Emmett was grinning in excitement, Esme was beaming - already contemplating the dozens of meals she could prepare for me, Edward was not far behind in Esme's excitement though he was more composed about it and Alice... well, Alice was Alice, she was bouncing beside me smiling at me in excited glee. Jasper didn't seem to be here and was most likely waiting at the house, away from Edward's ability.

"Very well, thank you for your hospitality."

Alice grinned and pecked my lips quickly before dashing upstairs, "I'll just pack you some clothes."

I shook my head slowly before moving to stand, but was surprised when Carlisle placed a restraining hand on my shoulder.

"I think you should just sit a moment longer. Alice will be finished quickly and besides you must be in some form of shock? I mean you did just crash into your house."

I rolled my eyes again but did not bother arguing. Carlisle was nearly as bad as the rest of them in his concern for my comfort and safety.

Emmett was currently pushing the truck out of my kitchen with Edward's assistance and I admired their ability to make it seem as though it was an effort.

Staying at the Cullen's residence did not sound like such a bad plan, but I knew it would include a lot of effort on my part to not slip up. I needed to remember to eat, to take bathroom breaks and to retire to my bed at appropriate hours.

I looked at Carlisle, as I waited for Alice to return, wondering what his thoughts were about my developing relationship with his adoptive daughter. He hadn't seemed to give any reaction to our kissing .

In fact no one had, but I'd seen Edward's expression flicker when Alice had suggested I stay in her room. He'd been the one to object, saying they had plenty of spare bedrooms.

It had been said in such a tone that I wouldn't have questioned that he just wanted my comfort, had it not been for that flicker. It had been subtle enough I doubted the others had noticed. He was obviously talented at keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself, considering no one else's thoughts were safe from him.

Both Esme and Rosalie had seemed unsurprised, Esme simply beaming at me when I'd given her a shy look. When Alice was with me I tended to forget, or at least the more dominant part of my brain tended to forget other's presence. Rosalie hadn't made any crass comments so I resolved that she already suspected something had been happening between myself and her only sister.

Emmett had not been present when we had kissed, and for that I had been thankful, knowing he wouldn't have hesitated in making some innuendo.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"What were you _thinking_ inviting the _human_ to stay with us?" Rosalie hissed at Carlisle in a dangerously low tone.

"I couldn't in good conscious leave her unprotected in an unsecure home. Forks may be a small town Rosalie, but that doesn't mean its crime rate is that low. She is an 18 year-old female, living alone with unfamiliar neighbours in an unsecure home, it not a situation I would allow _anyone_ to be in if I could well prevent it."

As I was over-hearing this conversation through several solid walls, I couldn't see her face but I could however hear the deep inhalation and the low grumble of her chest as she exhaled.

"But in keeping her safe, you've put us in danger of discovery. When she is in this house, Alice's power goes haywire, and now even Edward's is. The longer she stays here, the worse his 'hearing' becomes." Although her words were still accusatory, her tone had softened. Well, as much as Rosalie's scathing tone could soften.

"And you think that that is an issue?" Carlisle responded smoothly and I could well imagine his coy smirk. He knew as well as I did that Rosalie did not have the slightest problem with Edward's inability to read her thoughts.

"Admittedly that is an upside to the humans presence, but you do realise we aren't going to be able to skip meals for much longer. She's bound to notice eventually, and what happens should the sun come out? Or when we need to hunt? Emmett is not the tidiest hunter, and he can't well come home from a 'camping trip' coated in blood."

Alice entered my room then, and gave me a sly look. "Having fun eavesdropping?" She mouthed and I smirked, before nodding.

"It's incredibly informative when the household believes you cannot hear them. Do you know how many under-their-breath comments I've heard since I arrived? And I'm positive Emmett is just waiting for an opportunity to trip me. He has been watching me like a snake about to strike every trip I make downstairs."

She giggled behind her hand and sat on my bed.

"Are you feeling well? I know that last meal can't have tasted as great as you made it seem." She gave me a wary smile, still feeling rather guilty over the fact that I was forced to eat human food at least three times a day.

It had only been two days since Carlisle had kindly offered me shelter in his home, after I'd driven my truck into my house to avoid detection from Edward and the strain my presence was putting on this family was nearing entry to the physical realm.

We had attended school and the time at school allowed for the others to hunt.

It had been sunny and because Alice didn't have my shield, she couldn't attend without exposing herself.

I hadn't been questioned why I attended alone, because the student body wasn't aware of the damage done to my home, and repairs were taking longer than initially estimated by Esme.

Apparently some serious structural damage had been done, and I had been fortunate the house hadn't actually collapsed on me.

Alice had been forced to tell me that since the sun would be coming out early Tuesday morning, her family was going to go hunting. I had declined attendance, using the excuse of my clumsy nature to avoid it. Of course, Alice had been forced to play reluctant girlfriend, who really wanted to spent time with me but it was a tradition her adoptive father apparently insisted on.

What the Cullen's hadn't been aware of, though, was my attendance. Their trail had been easy enough to track, since the scent of six vampires was impossible to miss. I had tracked them after school the first day and run with Alice, shielding her mind from Edward and lowering my shield in her presence. So she could see me, but the others could not, and Edward couldn't read her mind.

"I feel fine, Alice, I assure you." I gave her a small smile and she grinned.

"Then you'll come downstairs and interact. You've been behaving rather anti-social lately."

I groaned, rubbing my face with my hand.

"Fine. I seem to recall that you and Emmett wanted to show me the Pisp?"

Alice snorted before she could control herself, "Bella, honey, it's a P-S-P, and yes we did want to show you it. But I think the _Play station 3_ would be a smarter place to start."

Her shoulders continued to shake as she slid her hand down my arm and gently wrapped her fingers around mine.

Ignoring how immature the gesture was, I poked me tongue out and allowed her to lead the way.

"Hey, Emmett!" Alice called loudly, and waited for the returning bellow.

"What?" He hollered.

"Bella wants to play the PlayStation."

That was all that needed to be said, as he bounded into the house, having been outside for whatever reason.

"Really?" He questioned his eyes wide in childish delight and I could have sworn he was very nearly bopping on the spot.

I nodded my affirmation and his grin widened impossibly before he bounced away, heading for the lounging room. Jasper was already seated on one of the couches and he placed his thick book down, no doubt curious about watching me use something technological.

It had been a source of great amusement for him to watch me learn to operate certain devices around the home. The most memorable one being the microwave.

I had deemed it to be an appropriate time to require a 'snack' and so asked Alice if I could have something. She suggested a microwavable pizza and at my confused look, led me into the kitchen to teach me to operate it.

My first attempt resulted in my burning the food beyond recognition, and then the glass container I was using to cook the pizza on exploded after I placed it in the cool water in the sink. Alice and Jasper had laughed hysterically at my fright and since then I'd refused to cook in the kitchen.

Paranoid about other possibly explosive devices.

Alice gave me an appraising look, her amber eyes sparkling in adoration and her thumb stroked the back of my hand affectionately.

Her family had taken the news of our relationship well. We had announced it officially the night I moved in, even though they'd already known since they'd witnessed that kiss.

Esme had been ecstatic her youngest daughter had found love; Carlisle had been accepting and, as far as I could tell, pleased. Emmett had immediately thrown some inappropriate comments and jokes at us, so I knew he accepted us; Rosalie was less obvious about her feelings, but I supposed she was pleased that her sister had found someone. Even if it was me - the intrusive, upsetting human who insisted on disrupting her family's peace. Jasper had been surprisingly, unsurprised. But then he _felt_ Alice's feelings for me, and he knew me well enough to know that I must trust her to have shared my secrets.

And Edward. Well, he was less than pleased.

In fact, since I had temporarily moved in, he had avoided Alice and I like the plague.

After he had had a go at me of course.

As soon as he had gotten me alone, four hours after I'd moved into one of the many guest bedrooms he had propositioned me in a rather inappropriate manner.

Cornering me on the deck, he began claiming he could forgive my lapse in judgement. Could forgive me for becoming enthralled by Alice. She was beautiful and her energetic personality often had the effect of attracting attention. And this sort of attention usually ended in Alice engaging in a tryst with the person, before becoming bored shortly after and dismissing them.

And Edward in all his chivalry knew what was coming for me and had offered, since he himself was enthralled by me, to save me from eventual heartbreak.

I was hard-pressed in deciding whether to laugh in his face, or tear him so severely it would take months before he could even remotely imagine the possibility of piecing himself back together.

So I chose, by my thoughts, the lesser of two evils and told him in no uncertain terms what I thought of him, his perception of chivalry, and his misplaced thoughts of the possibility of a mutual attraction between us. And I even recommended a place for him to place these thoughts. While some rather rich and often rude adjectives may have been placed amongst these words he certainly understood my overall meaning.

His shock at my outrage would have been laughable... had I _not _been so outraged. His eyes widened dramatically, his jaw dropped and he gaped wordlessly for several moments before leaving in a pouty huff. Slamming the door like a hormonal and rather emotional brat as he left.

I gave him some points that he did not break the door when he shut it with excessive force, but by my count he was still very much in the negative.

...

Alice sat beside me and I studied Emmett's movements. Watching as he plugged some coloured plugs into their respective coloured holes and press a few switches on the television and what must have been the 'PlayStation 3'.

After some more fiddling the screen burst with life, images danced about, my eyes finding the pixelated images hard to focus on.

"So this is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," Alice whispered in my air, at a volume only my superior hearing could hear.

We had practiced this over the past day, perfecting the tone, pitch and frequency so that she could inform me of something without the others hearing. And if they did, it would simply sound like low buzzing, or humming.

She continued giving me brief instructions on the operating of the strange shaped 'controller' in my hand. Indicating each button and its use by subtly stroking her finger tips over them and subsequently my hands. To Emmett it would appear she was humming in my ear, while stroking my hands affectionately.

"Alice, stop distracting Bella. I don't want to allow her any excuses when I beat her." Emmett commanded and Alice poked her tongue at him before leaning back.

Changing her mind about her position she shimmed behind me, placed either leg beside me and gently coerced me to lean back into her chest. Purring softly in contentment when I obeyed.

"And let the games begin." Emmett announced, once the battle field had been loaded.

We played for two solid hours before I lost patience with the graphics that were causing my eyes to struggle to focus. Emmett won the first several games before I got the hang of it, and after I'd beaten him Jasper challenged me, surprising me with his skill. But then, he was a soldier and was obviously more modern than me.

Having spent time with the Cullen's before.

Alice versed me, and then Emmett and Jasper faced off. Jasper creaming Emmett, who claimed he was being distracted by his sister.

To be fair, Alice was fairly distracting...

To me.

I had changed positions from the floor to the couch, knowing humans did not find the floor to be as comfortable to sit on over longer periods of time. Alice had joined me, and by that I mean I had lain down over the length of the couch, and she had slipped between my side and the backrest of the couch.

As we lay there watching Emmett and Jasper shot each other, she traced her fingers over my abdomen; drawing meaningless shapes and patterns.

Now Emmett and Jasper wouldn't have been able to see this, but they could certainly hear her making soft noises in the back of her throat. Purposely provoking Emmett to look back every few minutes to try and see why she was making such... pleasant sounds.

After Emmett grudgingly admitted defeat she and Jasper had a game or ten, each ending with new jeering and challenges. I watched uncomfortably as at the ending of their tenth game she nudged him with her elbow, raised a provocative eyebrow and gave him an undoubtedly suggestive smirk.

Something snapped in me at that point, and I found my chest rumbling as I growled at a low tempo. The urge to engage Jasper in a real, physical fight was building with every second that passed.

It was a desire, an instinct I had never experienced before and the potency of it threw my control off. With each passing second my snarl grew in volume, loud enough now that Alice heard and quickly turned to me in shock.

She registered the expression on my face, the slight baring of my teeth, my death grip on the couch and the rumbling in my chest with surprise. Understanding quickly followed and she pushed away from Jasper in the same instant, watching me carefully, not wanting to give anything away when Emmett was still in the room.

"I think Bella's had enough guys, and its dinner time. Emmett, I pretty certain it's your turn to help Esme in the kitchen tonight." Alice spoke in her usual chipper tone, not giving anything away.

Emmett complained, but the look she shot him made him stop and immediately leave.

As soon as he was out she dashed to me, crouching in front of me and taking my face in her hands. While she directed my face to her, my eyes were still fixed on Jasper, who realised exactly what was happening and slowly edged from the room.

Putting as much space between him and Alice.

My growling didn't stop when he was out of sight, my eyes still fixed on the doorway.

"Bella." Alice called sharply, demanding my attention.

My eyes flickered to her briefly before returning to the threshold, my mind still debating whether or not to pursue Jasper.

"_Bella,"_ She repeated and when my eyes flicked back she held my gaze furiously. She wasn't glaring as I was, but her eyes were steady and serious.

"You're _mine._" I hissed before I thought the words through.

_Mine? Where did that come from?_

The sudden possessive side to my thoughts blindsided me and I didn't understand.

But what was even more confusing was Alice's reaction to these words. Her entire face lit up in complete, unadulterated delight and joy. She beamed at my words.

"Mine." I repeated gruffly, some small part of my mind had taken total control of my verbal motor functions, voicing the thoughts before the main part, the logical side, of my brain had time to consider them.

Her grin widened and her thumb stroked my lips.

Taking this to be an invitation, I grasped her neck, tilting her face up and captured her lips roughly. She responded enthusiastically, a low noise of pleasure developed in her throat and she allowed me to coerce her onto the sofa beside me and I deepened the kiss.

The hunger for her was intense.

I needed her, and needed to assert that she was in fact mine.

Pushing her back, my hands held her neck before tracing down and over her shoulders.

Her response then was a deep, rumbling purr and her back arched as I caressed her lightly with my fingertips.

Shifting again, I half straddled her, my knees aside her thighs and I transferred my weight to my left hand, now situated beside her right shoulder, while my right journeyed over the plain of her tense abdominal muscles.

Releasing her lips I kissed along her jaw line, primitively satisfied to hear her soft moan.

Coming to her senses when I nibbled at the tendon joining her neck and shoulders she was suddenly pushing at my shoulders.

"Bella, wait." She called softly, breathlessly.

I mumbled something unintelligible and nibbled again and she gasped.

"Seriously, Bella," she repeated and pushed with more force.

I growled briefly, too hung up by the incredible sensations being this close to her was creating in me and the raging desire to lay claim to her.

It was as though my heart had started beating again, as though the heartbeat others heard was more than an illusion I had created.

Her hips bucked when I fingered the waistline of her jeans, and while it distracted her, my hand crept beneath her top, over the silky smooth, marble hard skin.

The increase in skin-to-skin contact jolted Alice from her blissful obliviousness and she forcefully shoved me off her, and onto the floor.

The impact woke me from my lusty haze and I stared at her with wide, mortified eyes.

"Bella," she said gently, sliding to the floor slowly.

I hastily moved away, terrified by what had come over me. Her sad eyes held some understanding and she ran a trembling hand through her ruffled, more-so than usual, hair.

"Bella, it's fine." She assured me, still speaking gently.

Pushing myself up into a sitting position I glared at her, angered by my own lack of control.

"Fine?" I repeated incredulously, "You call _that_ fine?"

"_Yes_," she answered urgently, "because I understand exactly what happened and why. I'm well aware that this is your first... relationship, so you would have absolutely _no_ experience with this."

"And what exactly is _this?"_

I watched her Adams apple rise and fall as she swallowed, "I'm your mate."

"My what?"

"Mate. Someone to share your eternity with. Carlisle believes every vampire has one, be they human or vampire. Someone who is more suited to spend forever with than anyone else. The vampire equivalent of a human's soul mate."

"But that doesn't explain why I..." I trailed off but Alice understood what I meant.

"But it does. When you saw Jasper so close to me, you felt the typical vampiric territorial instinct to defend your property kick in. I know as well as you do you were dying to rip him to shreds for flirting so opening with me, and then needing to mark me. That drive to... well mate, is the same as the need to defend and mark any land you're residing in."

"But, if you knew all that, why stop me?"

She ducked her head in embarrassment then, "Because, I... want our first time to be, well... something special. I want it to be under both our terms and not some reflex born from seeing someone else too close to me."

My eyes widened in understanding and I moved towards her.

She gave me a sly, rather seductive smirk, "And I think we are going to need a _lot_ longer than twenty minutes."

I flushed automatically at her implication. Now that I wasn't in some lust driven haze, my natural shyness in this topic broke through.

"But do you; um... feel the same for me?" I asked brokenly, self-confidence waning.

She raised a hand to my face, smiling sweetly, "Of course, Bella. If I didn't, do you really think I would have let you get so far? I was hard pressed to stop you."

I smiled and she pecked my lips, rising to her feet she offered her hands.

Accepting them I stood and kept hold of one hand.

I sat at the dining table and immediately asked why no one else appeared to be preparing to eat, "You can't all possibly have eaten beforehand. I'm hungry enough I would have smelt any food cooked."

Esme and Carlisle shared a look and Carlisle muttered, "We can either eat, or tell her."

"I vote tell her. No way am I eating that." Emmett replied but Esme seemed doubtful.

"Don't you _dare_ tell her." Rosalie hissed from her room.

"Then come down and eat this delicious looking meal." Alice replied, her expression passive whereas her tone betrayed her amusement.

Jasper had conveniently disappeared after he'd realised how close I'd been to attacking, so he wasn't privy to this conversation. Edward was still sulking in his room, and was ignoring the activities.

Rosalie huffed but didn't reply and I continued to sit at the table, looking as oblivious as a human to this superhuman conversation.

"I believe she is trustworthy enough. Not once so far has she done something for us to question her." Esme was murmuring, and suddenly looked at Alice, "And what happened in the lounge? I heard a slight thud, but couldn't hear what you were saying."

"Um, I'm fairly certain when she saw me with Jasper; she experienced what can only have been the possessiveness of a mate." Alice hastily answered, and it was true.

Carlisle frowned deeply at this revelation, "But she's human. I didn't think the connection worked that way..." He trailed off in deep thought.

It was about time that a human would have noticed the lack of response so I cleared my throat deliberately and all the vampires turned their eyes on me.

"So are you eating then?"

"Well, I'm lactose intolerant." Emmett answered and smiled, proud of himself he'd gotten himself out of this one.

Not letting him get away so easily I frowned, "But surely Esme knows that, and wouldn't have been inconsiderate enough to cook a meal that a lactose intolerant person couldn't consume."

"That's right, Emmett," Alice pounced and Emmett's grin slipped.

"_Alice_," He hissed in annoyance and she only smirked.

"If I'm forced to eat, so are you."

He grumbled something incoherently and dropped into his chair heavily.

"I've always loved Esme's cooking, why do you make it seem as though you're forced into a torture session?" I observed and tilted my head slightly at Emmett.

"Because he likes takeaway's and deems my cooking to be too health related." Esme replied for Emmett and placed the steaming dish of lasagne in the middle.

"How exactly is lasagne health related?" I queried and leant over to exaggerate smelling it, with an expression of delight.

No one replied, but Esme set the table and they all sat, albeit reluctantly.

"Where are Rosalie and Edward?" I asked politely after the meal had been dished out, Esme being sure to give me a generous amount.

"In their rooms." Esme replied, a hint of motherly displeasure, "They ate earlier."

Acknowledging the subtle tone telling me not to question it I dug in with 'enthusiasm'. The Cullen's followed my lead, and Emmett wasn't able to control his expression, his disgust obvious.

"This is your entire fault, Alice." He grumbled, shovelling another mouthful in and swallowing with a pained expression.

"Stop your whining and look like your enjoying it." Alice replied in the same low tone.

"This is delicious Esme," I complimented and Alice choked on her mouthful.

...

Eventually the meal came to an end. I'd never seen anyone escape a room as fast as those vampire's playing humans did.

Feeling a little guilty for forcing Esme to not only cook, but also eat I volunteered to help with the dishes. She smiled in delight and we cleaned in companionable silence.

Carlisle had taken Alice aside and was questioning her about my actions earlier. She was answering him as honestly as possible.

"You and Alice seem to be growing closer," Esme commented, not pausing in her actions of scrubbing the dish that had held the lasagne.

I nodded, "yes, I feel a lot of affection for her."

Esme gave me an odd look, "How old are you?"

"18."

She smiled, "You're very mature and well-spoken for an 18-year-old. Most teens of today have absurdly terrible grammar. Not to mention manners."

I smiled, watching my hand dry the dish. "My mother was an English teacher, and I guess I had to mature quickly." I lied easily.

She nodded in quiet understanding and I saw her sympathetic gaze watching me. Drying her hands, she placed a hand on my shoulder, "I know for certain Alice feels strongly for you too." Was all she said before leaving the kitchen smoothly.

I continued standing at the counter, staring out the window.

The conversation about my mother brought back memories of her. The images were blurred, as though I were seeing them through a watery filter.

There wasn't much I could remember about her physical appearance; her face was always unfocussed when I thought of her, but I remembered her smile with clarity. How her eyes crinkled in the corner and the sound of her laugh.

A sudden pang clenched at my stomach, and I thought perhaps the dinner was being rejected early.

Alice entered the kitchen then and came to my side in silence.

"You alright?" she eventually asked and I gave her a half-smile.

"Just thinking of my mother."

She wrapped her hands around my waist in understanding and squeezed me to her.

"May I ask you about her?"

I hesitated; my parents were not something I had discussed before. Not even with Jasper, not that he had ever asked.

I nodded and she held my hand, taking me to her room.

"I don't remember much about her, but I know she loved me. She was an affection person, always hugging me, and was sure to make sure if I left the house, it wasn't on bad terms with her. If we fought, we would go off to our respectable areas of the house, cool off and then work out our differences of opinion without harsh words."

Alice smiled, rubbing my forearm with her hand.

"She sounds like a lovely person."

I nodded, and leaned into her side as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

...

We stayed in that position for some time; until both our stomachs began rejecting the dinner and she excused herself to another bathroom, while I used hers.

There were more flushed toilets that evening than there had ever been in the Cullen house.

Alice re-entered her room to find me staring out the window.

"I'm going to need to hunt soon." I announced quietly and she looked up at me.

"We could hunt together."

I looked at her in surprise, "You would come to Port Angeles with me?"

She frowned, and then her eyes widened in surprise, "You mean you're to hunt humans?"

"Yes. What else would I feed from?"

"Animals. Like my family and I."

I shook my head, "Why would I need to?"

"Because it's murder!" She exclaimed and I raised an eyebrow.

"How is feeding from animals not murder?"  
"It's more humane."

I turned to her fully, "So says the humans. But, Alice we are not humans."

"But we _were_."

"And we aren't anymore. How is being a vampire, feeding from its natural food source any different from a human feeding from an animal if Evolution claims we evolved from animals."

She frowned, "It's just wrong."

"No, Alice it's the circle of life. The primary rule, survival of the fittest. We are superior to humans, so they have become our food source."

"It doesn't bother you that you survive off killing humans? Humans that have families, loved ones?"

I turned her question back on her, "It doesn't bother you that you survive off killing animals? Animals that have families to provide for. If that is your logic, then how is killing an animal any better?"

"Because, they aren't sentient beings."

"So they don't feel pain? They don't feel a connection with their mates. Foxes mate for life; you kill its mate, then it is alone until it dies. If anything killing a fox would be worse than a human. Human's move on. Human's find another partner, sometimes even when they already have one. And by your own words, vampires mate for life too. So shouldn't killing animals, the beings we relate to better, be worse than these humans we are no more? Why deny what you are?"

She frowned deeply and I waited for her to process her thoughts.

"If you _can_ survive off of animal's blood, why do you need to kill humans? There are humans who survive without eating animals."

"But they don't have the same nutritional intake. Vegetarians aren't as healthy as omnivores. They suffer health issues, such as anaemia because they don't eat what is needed. So how would you know if eating animals will suffice? Carlisle is only 300. Vampires live forever, so he is still very young. Can you honestly know for certain that I would have lived as long as I have by living off animals? No, because you don't have an example of an aged 'vegetarian'. You may quieten the thirst by drinking animal blood, but I doubt it is as satisfying as feeding from humans."

Alice sighed, "I wouldn't know. I've only ever eaten from animals. This is a debate you need to have will Carlisle. But tell me, Bella now that you have a few human friends can you tell me honestly that you would kill them?"

I frowned, and shrugged, "We have reached an impasse. Both of us have things to think over but in the meantime I will be going to Port Angeles tomorrow. My eyes are fading too rapidly for me to wait until the weekend, so while I am gone remember to control your thoughts."

I pecked her cheek and bid her goodnight.

"Night." She murmured and turned to look out the window to watch the darkness grow.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

I approached Rosalie with an expression of trepidation.

"Rosalie?" I called, adding some timidity in there.

She lowered her book, eyeing me. "Yes?"

I swallowed, "I was hoping, perhaps you would be so kind as to look at my truck? Perhaps determine as to why its brakes malfunctioned, and..." I swallowed again, "fix it?"

Her perfectly shaped, light brown eyebrows lifted and she regarded me with seriousness.

"Why do you ask me?"

Twisting my hands convulsively I answered in a more timid tone, "Because Alice tells me you are the best with automotive vehicles."

She closed her book and placed it softly on the table beside the couch she was seated on.

"Why do you ask now and not before?"  
Biting my lower lip I meet her gaze, "Because I had no need for it until now."

She stood, her 5'9" height allowing her to look down at me in a posture of intimidation.

"And why would you need it all of a sudden?"

She didn't trust me. That much was obvious.

I had already overheard enough of her conversations to know this was the case, but what I didn't know was why. I had given her no indication that I was untrustworthy.

"Because I wanted to make a trip to town to make some purchases." I answered vaguely and her expression changed from stony and blank, to suspicious and scornful.

Tired of playing the submissive, I lifted my gaze and met hers. Her eyes were a dark gold and she scowled.

I remembered to blink once or twice so I wouldn't need to explain why my eyes didn't water, but consequently it marred the effect of declaring myself unafraid. She already had the height, and by blinking I was displaying my inability to dominate her. By staring down at me she was asserting her dominance, her ability to frighten me, because with vampires, the time it takes to blink is enough for the opponent to gain an advantage.

"Very well." Rosalie spoke after some time, realising even though I was blinking, I would not break the connection willingly. "I will repair your truck, to the best of my capabilities. It is rather ancient."

I smiled my thanks, "Would you like some assistance?" I offered, predicting she would decline.

Regarding me seriously, she surprised me.

"Yes, if your offer is serious and not one of civility."

I nodded and she led the way to their garage that housed several late model sports cars. My rusted, dented truck was resting at the end of the line up.

"I'll have Emmett fix the damage on your panels." Rosalie told me, her emotionless tone a slight improvement from the scathing one she usually used when speaking to me.

I nodded, watched as she popped the bonnet and looked over the engine, and waited for some instructions.

"I know you are hiding something from us, Bella." She spoke smoothly, as though she were observing the weather and I gave her no reaction.

"Hmm? Like what?" I replied dryly and watched her hands tinker with some part of the motor.

"Like the fact that for someone who has some incapacitating clumsy moments you move with fluid grace. Like how you are the first teenager I've met who refers to their feelings for another as '_affection'._ You and Alice have a more intimate relationship than most, and yet you don't gush over how in love with her you are. As is the habit with most girls of today. You're far too well spoken and literate, with little to no knowledge of the technology of today."

She straightened up then, and stared at me. "What exactly are you implying, Rosalie?"

"That you are hiding something."

I cocked an eyebrow, "As much as you and your family are hiding something from me? Honesty is a two-way street, Rosalie and if you think you're within your rights to question me then I am in as much right to question you."

She wiped her hands on a towel, "Fine, question away."

Both my eyebrows lifted then, but I knew she was offering me to question her about my suspicions, not offering to answer them.

"I don't need to. You're as aware of my suspicions as I am, and by questioning you I'm only clarifying exactly what it is that I suspect."

She smiled then, a half-smile. Quite an accomplishment considering.

She didn't respond, and simply bent over the motor, "I've discovered what the problem with your braking was. There's no brake cord, someone's ripped it out."

She straightened up again, eyeing me suspiciously.

I gave her a surprised and rather confused look, "Why would someone do that?"

"I don't know. To make sure your truck didn't stop when you needed it to."

Her tone was not in the least bit concerned, "What, you think _I _did this? Why on Earth would I want to sabotage my own truck?"

"Because it would ensure a way to get into our home. You knew that Alice would never have allowed you to live alone in an insecure home, so you damaged your house enough that you'd force our hand to offering accommodation for you."

I gave her an incredulous look, "what possible reasoning could I have for doing that? I'm not some crazy, psychotic stalker hell bent on getting into your home."

"Aren't you? You've already told me that you are suspicious of us. What better way to investigate than to observe us in behind our closed doors?"

"You are far too paranoid, Rosalie." I straightened and turned to leave.

She grabbed my wrist in a tight grip, especially tight for a human.

"I _know_ you're hiding something, Bella. And you can't hide behind Alice forever."

Her grip was tight, threatening and I clenched my hands into tight fists, "Release me, Rosalie. _Now._"

Something in my tone must have alerted her to my seriousness because she let go, eyeing me in slight confusion.

My tone hadn't simply been angry or defensive, and she had picked up on the slight hint of panic.

I left the garage in a hurry, worried about what I would have done had she not released me.

Because she was a female grabbing me in such a way, I hadn't been filled with the same blind raging urge to defend myself as I was when a male touched me in such a manner. But the aggressive nature behind the contact was enough to stir the instincts and I found it challenging to walk away without harming her.

...

Alice noticed my dark, aggressive mood as soon as she stepped through the threshold. And she hadn't even seen my face.

I was standing by my window; staring out into the vast area of green the Cullen's called their backyard. It was an innocent enough pose, but the rigidity of my shoulders and back, the tensed and clenched fists resting on my arms that were crossed defensively over my chest. Even the tightness of my jaw gave away my roaring emotions and consequently Alice approached me with undue caution. Wary of my mood.

"Bells?" she asked cautiously, "You okay?"

I didn't respond and she laid her hand on my tight biceps, her dark amber eyes studying my facial expression; which I had skilfully left blank, disregarding the clenched tightness in my jaw.

"What happened?"

"Rosalie has become suspicious. More so than you were. Or at least she is more direct in addressing her suspicions."

"That doesn't explain why you're like this."

I looked at her then, "We had a confrontation."

She frowned, "Over what?"

"She doesn't trust me, and questioned me. When I failed to answer her, I turned to leave and she grasped my arm roughly to prevent me doing so." I looked down at her and saw she understood.

"May I borrow your car? I don't believe Rosalie will have my truck in working condition in time for an appropriately timed trip to town."

"Oh, yes certainly you can." She frowned as a thought crossed her mind, "but you're not going to hunt in Forks, are you? The treaty with the wolves determines we aren't to harm a human."

"I would not jeopardise your safety. I will park your car in Port Angeles and travel further on foot for some prey. It would be too suspicious for me if the night I travel to town alone, is the same night a human disappears from the same town."

She nodded, and I could see that she was holding her tongue. She still wasn't all too pleased with my continuing to feed from humans, but she respected my individuality enough to not force me into changing my diet.

I may be beginning to claim her as a mate, but it was far too early for her to begin attempting to dictate my behaviour and decisions, and she knew me well enough that I wouldn't bend to her will.

I was a strong individual; a loner for thousands of years and a few measly months in her company was not nearly long enough for my mind to be swayed so easily.

I nodded, pecked her cheek and she handed me her Porsche keys.

"Bring her back in one piece please."

I grinned, grabbed my wallet and rushed out, strangely excited by being allowed to drive Alice's Porsche.

I wasn't a car enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination but even I could appreciate the kind of power her Porsche held. The speeds it could reach.

Admittedly, her car wasn't as fast as I was on foot, but still it was an enjoyable experience. And more convenient than travelling anywhere on foot when there were purchases to be made.

Esme caught me at the doorway, asking where I was going and if I would be home before dinner.

"No," I answered, and saw some subtle relief that she wouldn't have to endure eating another meal, "I'll pick something up while I'm in town."

She nodded and bid me farewell, telling me to be careful.

I escaped before anyone else could stop me and slid into Alice's yellow Porsche.

I sped down the main road, enjoying the purr of the engine and the skill required to keep the wheels on the road at such a speed.

I knew I'd be forced to make a purchase in town, a proof that I'd gone and because I'd said as much to Rosalie. I could simply play it off as a token of my gratitude for their allowing me to live with them.

It was a legitimate reason for having been secretive, and I would enjoy Rosalie's surprise when I presented her with a gift.

The only problem then would be deciding a gift to present them with. I couldn't very well buy them a car or anything extravagantly expressive. I was supposedly a teenager living alone, with no job so buying a car on a whim would be extraordinarily suspicious, and downright strange.

Plus, I didn't even know them all that well to know exactly what they would appreciate. Rosalie obviously held an interest in cars, but I couldn't think of a reasonable automotive related gift that she didn't already own. She had shown some interest in fashion and while I didn't have the same fashion sense as she did, I had noted that last night she had been looking through a magazine and had come across a jacket. I knew she hadn't had a chance to purchase the jacket so perhaps I would go for a simple gift. One that appealed to her more basic desires than an attempt at a more sentimental gift when I clearly hadn't had much opportunity to get to know her more.

I knew Emmett would appreciate the newest PlayStation game, one that had only very recently been released.

Esme, perhaps, would appreciate a renewal for her art supplies. I had noticed the smell of painting oils and seen her working in a small room besides Carlisle's study. She had been working on a family portrait, and I had seen her with an expression that I had not seen before.

She had given off an almost tranquil vibe and she obviously held great joy in painting.

Apart from doctoring I wasn't sure what interests Carlisle held, as I had not seen him much over the couple of days I'd been here. He worked long hours at the hospital, and by the time he arrived home, I was preparing myself for bed.

He may appreciate a book.

Edward on the other hand was a difficult choice, purely because of his demeanour with me. I believed he would appreciate something musically orientated, but whether I should purchase a gift for him or not was difficult.

I didn't want to exclude him, but now did I want to gift him with a present in light of his recent behaviour. Pursuing me when I'd already made it perfectly clear I held no interest in him wasn't something I could condone and I felt giving him something would do exactly that.

I'd never thought about how difficult it would be to buy a gift for a family who had everything. Alice's ability allowed her to predict trends in the stock market, and when you didn't need to spend money on food or other humanely products, money accumulated rapidly. Leaving one free to spend on the more material things. Like the latest speed machines, and advances in technology.

...

Arriving in Port Angeles I found a park and checked my surroundings. There wasn't a human looking so I shielded myself and set off for a meal.

I got as far as Sequin before my patience ran out. I was thirsty and the thought of feeding only made my throat burn more viciously and insistently.

Luckily for me there was a hitch hiker, about 10 miles from Sequin and his poor state of dress suggested he'd been doing this for some time and this told me it would be weeks, if not months or years before someone even noticed the individual was missing.

Snatching him from the roadside I dashed into the roadside bush and killed him all before his human senses had told him he'd moved.

As I latched onto his neck, the warm liquid bursting into my mouth as the last beat of his heart finished circulating the blood, Alice's words came to mind.

'_Now that you have a few human friends can you tell me honestly that you would kill them?'_ and images of my human friends flashed before my closed eyelids. Angela's sweet smile, flashing white teeth, Eric's awkward laugh, even Jessica and Mike featured.

The thought of feeding from them was strangely disturbing, but I shook that thought away.

_This is a stranger, not one of my _friends.

'But he could well have been someone else's friend.' That small voice spoke in my mind and I growled. I didn't want Alice's words to haunt me.

It was natural for me to kill and feed from humans. It wasn't any different to humans killing animals to survive.

'But you _don't_ need humans. Alice and her coven have survived on animal's blood for 300 years. At least Carlisle has and he has yet to have trouble with it.'

Growling I tore the man to pieces, scattering his body around for wild animals to pick up.

I didn't want to begin questioning myself. Begin doubting that I wasn't a monster.

I had accepted my life, accepted I'd been changed into a vampire.

Accepted the inevitable.

I had come to terms with feeding and killing humans, pushed the initial disgust at what I'd become away.

And yet it only took one sentence from some short, hyperactive vampire to bring forth long buried feelings.

For three thousand years, _three thousand_ _years_ I'd survived by killing humans to satiate my thirst, and keep my power operational.

I had spent more time feeding from humans than humans had been documenting their history and yet a few words from _Alice Cullen_ and everything came tumbling down.

Unexplainable fury crashed through me and I roared my frustration to the world.

I was a 3000 year-old vampire, my strength and speed matched by less than a handful of vampires. I had not met a vampire to date that displayed a power that wasn't rendered inert by my own.

I was superior in every aspect of physical dominance and yet _words _could bring me to my knees.

Perhaps not literally, as I was standing as I howled my grievances, but words had the power to upset me so.

Alice Cullen had unbalanced me, upset my way of life.

She had strolled in and literally turned everything upside down. She had brought forth feelings, emotions previously unknown.

I hadn't known I could feel such attachment, could enjoy another's company as I did hers.

It had come to the point that I desired, literally wanted, to see her every day. _Every single day._

Not every 15 to 20 years as I did with Jasper.

No.

Every day of my eternity.

Alice had done this to me. She had uprooted my solitary lifestyle. My nomadically-inclined way of living.

She had grounded me. Literally pulled me to a stop.

And now she was messing with my view on life.

Life, for me, was simple. Eat or be eaten.

Kill or be killed.

Run or be caught.

Survival of the fittest. And while my powers were unmatched, there was something that chased me. Or someone to be precise.

I didn't even know his name. I hadn't known him when he attacked me. When he 'tested' my blood and consequently killed me. Stopped my beating heart.

Immortalised my mortality.

I hadn't known him then, and I knew nothing more of him now.

He is the only one who could install fear in my heart.

Or he was the only one.

Until Alice came along, with her adoring, provocatively, playful smile. Her bell-like laughter and optimistic, cheerful disposition.

She had the power to make me afraid.

She did make me fearful.

For her, and of her.

Alice Cullen was not an ancient; she did not have the superior strength or speed. And while she did have her visions, her clairvoyance knowledge it was flawed.

By me.

My constant presence at her side affected her visions, her powers. And it made her vulnerable.

So I feared for her safety from my enemies. She was in danger for association with me.

But I feared her because she made me vulnerable.

Made me ache to be with her, ache when I was away from her.

Still enraged I ran back home, at my full speed.

Vampires such as Alice and her family may appear to be so fast the human eye merely catches a blur of motion. I am so fast the human eye doesn't register motion has happened.

I could run down a racing track with a stadium full of humans, and not a single one of them would have realised I was there. I would have appeared to have materialised from thin air, or into thin air. Depending on whether I stopped my movement, or started it.

Vampires would see the blur of my figure as I flashed past them, but I would be gone before they thought to give chase.

It was because of this speed I arrived back in Port Angeles with enough time to purchase items for the Cullen's as both a legitimate reasoning for my hasty trip to town, and as a token of my genuine gratitude.

They had shown great kindness in harbouring me while my house is being repaired. Especially since I'd damaged it myself, and deliberately, and because I was a human.

A human they knew little about.

A human who smelt more alluring than other humans.

...

I smelt Jasper's presence before I entered so I expected him to be in the house.

I just hadn't expected him to be standing so close to Alice.

Pausing in the threshold I eyed Jasper with narrowed eyes.

He looked up and saw my expression, "Isabella," he greeted before taking a step back.

Away from my Alice.

Alice smiled winningly at me and strolled towards me, my arms opening automatically to accommodate her. She pecked my cheek, "Hey, I was wondering when you'd get back. How was Port Angeles?"

"Packed," I answered distractedly, still staring at Jasper.

He was still standing in the same spot, his arms relaxed and hanging by his sides.

"How long will you be staying, Jasper?" I asked, forcing a tone of politeness into my question.

He inclined his head towards Alice, "As long as the Cullen's will have me. Or until I manage to get a hold of Peter and Charlotte. It has been sometime since I've seen them."

I nodded. My posture still stiff.

The room was thick with tension and Alice ran her fingers down my arm.

Jasper bowed his head, "Isabella, rest assured that Alice is yours."

I nodded again and he sighed, "I should hope to move past this soon, Isabella. I so miss your company."

Alice smiled at him warmly and I waited for him to leave.

He did so without further words and Alice moved to stand in front of me in an accusative manner.

"What is your problem with Jasper, Bella? You were incredibly rude just now."

A growl rumbled in my chest and very nearly escaped my throat.

Alice's eyes narrowed, and she poked my shoulder with a finger, "Don't you growl at me."

"You're _mine_ Alice. Not his. Mine."

She rolled her eyes impatiently, "Yes, yes, we've been through this. The whole house knows and yet you still glared Jasper out of the room!"

I glared at her, "He was standing too close to you."

"Bella," she chastised, "don't you take that tone with me. And you need to get a grip on yourself. Are you telling me that every time someone stands within ten inches of me you'll rip their heads off?"

"If that is necessary." I answered stonily, hating the thought of anyone standing with her.

"_Bella, _that is not how you behave. I know this is new to you, but get a hold of yourself? Did you honestly just tell me that you'll kill _anyone_ who stands within certain proximity to me? What if Esme hugs me? Or Emmett? Or even Angela?"

I grumbled under my breath and she stared me down sternly.

"Tell me you're going to get a hold of yourself, or you'll not get a hold of me." She threatened and I growled.

"Don't threaten me, Alice Cullen. You won't like the consequences."

We stared at each other, assessing the seriousness of the other and eventually she sighed.

"Fine, but seriously, Bella, control yourself. Others will want to touch or hold me. None of them will touch or hold me as you do, but it will happen and I won't have my mate ripping all my friends and family's heads off."

I processed her words and nodded, feeling some shame at the extremity of the possessiveness I'd just shown. I hadn't treated her as a mate, or a partner, but as a possession.

Looking away from her I spoke quietly, "I apologise, Alice. I... am... unaccustomed to... having a mate. Or even having these feelings. I promise you that in future occurrences I will have better composure."

A wide smile spread her lips and she hopped up onto her tip-toes to peck my cheek, "That's all I ask. Don't think you're the only one feeling a little possessive. I was simply prepared for it."

The other members of the Cullen coven returned home individually, excluding Rosalie and Emmett, who were rarely seen separately.

They had apparently used my absence to their advantage, and hunted themselves. The shining hue of their golden eyes paying tribute to my suspicions.

I drifted downstairs, requiring a break from Alice as I was more embarrassed than I cared to admit at my earlier behaviour.

Even though she had been forgiving, it bothered me. I had literally treated her with less respect than a toy I wanted no one else to play with.

Sighing I looked around the room and noticed Edward's grand piano in the corner.

Curious I wandered over and sat at the seat, running my fingers over the pearly white keys.

"Would you be interested in learning to play the piano?" Edward asked me in a charmingly polite voice.

He had heard my thrum and approached.

I turned in mock-surprise and regarded his offer seriously, studying him before answering.

His posture and tone were at ease, relaxed and he didn't appear to have any ulterior motive.

"That sounds pleasant." I answered and he sat beside me at an appropriate distance and turned the page of a book sitting on the lip of the key lid. Smiling warmly at me.

"Have you played piano before?" He asked, looking to me as he addressed me.

I shook my head, "No, I haven't. But I am a quick study."

I heard Alice's chiming giggle from her room at my words.

He nodded seriously, "There are 88 keys to each piano. The black are called _accidentals_ and are the sharp or flat notes, depending on their position in regard to the white ones. The black keys to the left are flat and to the right are sharp. The musical alphabet begins at C," He pressed his finger into the farthest white key and a deep tone echoed out, "runs through until G before returning to A and repeating." He ran his index finger down the scale.

"Each note on the sheet," his finger indicated a note, which appeared to be a small dot with a tail, "represents a key on the piano. The sharp is indicated by a hash beside the note and the flat is represented by a lower cased b."

He politely pointed out these examples.

I had to admit that Edward was a competent instruction, and even if I were not equipped with a photographic memory that I would have found his instructions comprehensible and easily remembered.

He gave me an example of a song, and then allowed me to display what I had learnt.

I was careful to put flaws into my first several attempts at Euphemia Allen's _The Celebrated_ _Chop Waltz_, more commonly known as _Chopsticks_. It was an enjoyable and entertaining song, and simple enough to play.

I came to the end of my twentieth run when Edward spoke, "Well, Bella you are quite talented at the piano. I have not seen someone pick up the piano with such ease. Are you certain you have not played before?"

My hands were still resting at the keys when his left hand rose and his lengthy fingers stroked over my right.

I hastily pulled my hand away and gave him a reprimanding look before rising to my feet.

"Thank you for the lesson, Edward and no, I have not played before." I inclined my head before turning to leave.

As I stepped away I felt his hand grasp my wrist and I spun and slapped him across the face.

He turned his head to prevent me from breaking my hand, but the loud impact echoed through the now quiet house. I quickly grasped my hand to my chest and gave a believable gasp of pain.

"_Don't ever_ touch me in such a manner again, Edward." I hissed before retreating, head bowed to hide my 'tears'.

Alice met me at the top of the stairs, genuinely concerned. I had never acted in a violent manner before, aside from that first incident, and so this was a cause for serious concern.

She followed me to my room and closed the door behind her.

"What happened?"

I sat on the bed berating myself silently.

"I was having a piano lesson with Edward, as you well know, when he touched my hand in an inappropriate manner. I stood to leave without further words when he grasped my arm to restrain me, so I slapped him. With human speed and strength, of course."

Her body was rigid, and I heard a soft hiss.

Turning I saw she was glaring in Edward's direction and her eyes had darkened to an onyx black.

"He has _no_ right to continue his advances on you. Who does he think he is forcing himself onto you? You are _mine_. My mate. _Mine._"

She stood and began pacing like a caged animal.

"He is Carlisle's first. His first 'son' and has consequently been spoiled from the beginning. Carlisle's guilt at having turned him and at such a young age has caused him to allow him certain privileges without protest. He has been alone the longest and this only adds to Carlisle's guilt."

Alice turned to me in surprise, and I smiled infinitely, "You forget I overhear every conversation that goes on in this house. It is not hard to know that Edward is the first born, the eldest of Carlisle's 'children'. He rebelled against Carlisle as a young vampire, only to return and be treated like the prodigal son. He is spoiled, and finally he has seen someone he desires.

"He views his inability to read my mind as something to add to the mystery of my persona, and his allure to my blood that I am his 'singer', as Carlisle deters it to be. The lust he feels for my blood is something he misinterprets to be a lust for my body.

"True, he could well lust for my body, but then he is mistaking lust for love. He has not felt lust for anyone before so that is something easily misinterpreted. Truth for my words being Rosalie. She is easily the most beautiful person of all vampires, and yet he felt nothing for her."

Alice nodded, "But what does all this have to do with his inappropriate behaviour towards you?"

"He has not felt such bodily desires before, and he is accustomed to getting what he wants. He is therefore unaccustomed to rejection."

"You sound like you're defending and justifying his behaviour."

I stood, "I most certainly am not justifying him. I am saying I understand, or at least know his reasoning behind his actions. I am in no means justifying him."

Alice took my hand and led me to the bed, she brushed my hair behind my ear and smiled at me, "I apologise for my brother's behaviour."

"You are not his keeper, and he is certainly old enough to apologise himself."

She lifted my hand and turned the palm up. Kissing it gently she lifted her eyes, "No, I am not his keeper but now that I have calmed, I can understand his attraction. You are a beautiful, seductive creature that everyone and anyone with eyes can see."

"And I am yours." I replied softly, caressing her cheek with the hand she had just kissed.

"Yes, you are and I am so glad for it."

I enjoyed her jealously and possessive actions more than I cared to admit.

It was strangely thrilling to have seen her so ready to engage Edward in a brawl. It was as though she were preparing to challenge Edward, to fight him for ownership of my affections.

While the idea that my affections could be won by a physical display of dominance, the primal side to me, the more instinctive vampiric nature wanted to see Alice prove her worth.

Prove she held the right to keep me.

Her hand caressing my cheek brought my thoughts back to the present and her winning smile told me she had some idea of where my thoughts had taken me.

"I would fight to keep you, Bella Swan." She purred and I leant in, capturing her lips in a heated kiss.

"As I would for you, Alice Cullen."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

We stayed in my room that night. I lay on my back with Alice snuggled up at against my side.

"Will you tell me more about your past?" Alice's silvery bell voice whispered into the night and I shifted.

Turning onto my side a little more to get a better view of her.

"There isn't much to tell you honestly." I whispered back and she studied me.

"You're telling me in nearly 3000 years nothing has happened? At all?"

Her disbelieve was obvious and I sighed softly.

"There is not a place on this Earth that I have not been to. I realised the world was not flat long, long before humans did. Since I attempting running, and swimming, in a dead straight line. Twenty-five days later I came back to where I had started. Had the Earth been flat, that wouldn't have been possible. Of course, at the time I'd been moderately fearful of the possibility that I would in fact run of the edge. But I'd not had enough desire to continue life to not attempt it.

"There is not a language I do not speak, a recorded event in history I do not know."

She propped herself up on one elbow, looking to me in surprise, "So for 3000 years, all you did was travel?"

My brow furrowed, "Of course. What else would there have been to do?"

Her lips pursed in thought, "Good point. But didn't you get lonely?"

I shrugged, "Regardless of whether or not I desired company, it was unacceptable. And to be honest, for the first few hundred years I was too preoccupied with evading my pursuer. At that stage of early life I hadn't had any control over my ability. I didn't even _know_ I had an ability. So every time I stopped long enough to hunt, he came within my sensory range."

She ran a finger down my cheek, and that single action told me more than a thousand words could have.

"Did he ever catch you?"

I shook my head, so grateful he never did. "No. For the first year my newborn strength and speed aided in my evasion of him. But I soon learnt how exactly to escape him. The first 3 years of my new life were the most educational space of time of my existence. I learnt techniques for laying false trails. For luring prey and even fighting."

She frowned, "But you said no one knew you existed?"

I gave her a wry smile, "And I stand by my word."

Her eyes widened in understanding and she pushed herself up completely, sitting Indian style, looking down at me.

"How many vampires have you killed off?"

I looked away from her eyes, up to the roof and thought.

"Not that I've really counted, but in the first millennium, before I'd learnt of my power and how to use it, I had killed over two thousand."

Her eyes appeared to bug out of their sockets and her jaw dropped in stunned disbelieve.

I shrugged, "Jasper was in the Southern Wars, and has killed plentiful."

"Yes, but he was in a _war._ He was trained to do exactly that, and I don't even think he has killed in the thousands."

I shook my head in disagreement, "The numbers add up fast enough. It took one thousand years for me to discover my power. In that time I was constantly running, unshielded in areas I didn't know. It isn't hard to believe that I would run into other vampires."

"So, what? You killed every vampire that saw you?"

I sighed, "No. Not initially. And in that lay my mistake."

"How do you mean?"

I sat up, realising I would be telling her a vital part of my history, and I didn't want to be in a vulnerable position when I did so.

"It took me years to realise how He kept finding me. Every time I stopped for longer than a few days he was able to pinpoint my location. I eventually realised it was because of passing vampires revealing me. Telling him that they'd seen me briefly.

"When I realised this, I sought to avoid all vampires. But that proved impossible because vampires by nature are nomadic. They travel and so regardless if I hid in forests, or the middle of deserts, there would be one vampire or another.

"My first kill of a fellow vampire was 4 years after I awoke. He was, I can recognise now, a reasonably young vampire. Not a newborn, but still young. His fighting technique was as instinctual as mine, and we brutalised each other before my agility outmatched his brute strength. I have always been a fast learner, and I learnt his technique early on. He fought with wild swipes and charges. Opting to charge me down into submission over using superior fighting skill.

"I eventually gained the upper hand from some rapid blows to his exposed ribs and tore his head off. When I realised his was attempting to repair himself, I tore his limbs off as well."

I gave Alice a sardonic smirk, "It took a few hours of this before I attempted another approach to dispatching of him. There were some human hunters nearby, with a campfire lit. By now the sun had set and it was late into the night. The campers were asleep so I dragged the half-attached body to the fire and dumped it on the fire. The limbs and torso went up in flames and I knew the vampire wouldn't be returning. Since the smell of the burning vampire woke the humans, I feed from them and fled."

Alice looked horrified by my tale but didn't remark on it. I knew she was against my feeding from humans, and perhaps now she was beginning to realise I was more than a 'human-feeder'.

That I had also killed vampires.

While fighting amongst vampires wasn't uncommon, a fight resulting in death only really occurred during territorial fights. Mates included.

For a vampire to simply kill another, for no other reason than my paranoia, was an issue most disliked. And since Alice was even more civilised than most, I knew my way of living back then would be difficult for her to even begin comprehending.

I didn't feel like attempting to justify my past so I waited patiently for Alice to process what I'd told her and react.

She surprised me by pulling me into a furious hug, "Oh, I can't imagine how you could have survived so long without anyone."

Too surprised to speak I simply placed my hand on her lower back and allowed her to hold me to her heart's content.

It was some time before she spoke again, "Jasper was in the war, and he has fought many a vampire. And as a result, he is heavily scared."

She pulled back enough to look at me, "Why is it you've no scars?"

I smiled, "Who says I have none?"

She pulled right back, sitting up again, "You mean... you've been hiding your scars?"

My smiled stayed where it was, "yes. I couldn't have you vampires see me with what could only have been vampire bites."

Her eyes widened, "will you... show me?"

I didn't respond, just simply dropped that bit of my shield. Her eyes bugged again as she absorbed the new sight.

My scars were impressive, as much so as Jaspers were. Although he had more on his face than I, I would have more on my arms and shoulders. The first few years of fighting had been a rough experience and I'd needed to learn quickly how to avoid my opponent's teeth.

She reached out and traced her fingers over a particular scar on my jaw.

"That particular one was from a rather feisty, 5'2" female. Who had rather resented my taking her hunt and then killing her mate." I pulled my collar down and traced a few more on my neck and shoulder, "she's responsible for these ones as well."

Tenderly, and creating sensations unknown to me, Alice ever-so-lightly traced her fingertips over those scars too. I couldn't help myself when I began to purr. Her caressing my scars was an intimate and surprisingly physically enjoyable experience.

Her eyes met mine at that moment and I watched as they darkened to an amber colour. I stroked her face tenderly before leaning down and softly connecting my lips to hers in a passionately slow-paced kiss.

The rest of the night passed in silence, with Alice holding me tightly, curved into my side one leg draped over mine, engaging me in a kiss every so often.

...

When morning came she stood and told me that Rosalie had fixed my truck.

I smiled, pleased that beast of a truck was fixed and operational. Even though it was so pathetically slow, I found myself attached to it.

It had history, and was older than other vehicles on the road. Much like I had history, and was far older than the company I kept.

Alice couldn't truly understand my attachment, but she respected it and found every opportunity available to mock.

"Right, I'll let you shower and try not to be late to first period if you're driving Grandmother today." She gave me a slick smirk and slipped out before I could hit her. Irritating as I found that pixie I couldn't help but laugh. She'd taken to calling the truck 'Grandmother', because it had to be older than her Grandmother, even though she a decade off a hundred.

She left to change into some new clothes and I took a quick shower.

Rosalie was in the dining room when I came down the stairs and she looked up at my entrance.

"I've finished repairs on your truck. Not that I understand why exactly you would continue to want to drive that machine. It belongs in a museum instead of on the road."

She stood and walked towards the garage and I felt I should follow.

Once I was in the room she showed me my newly repaired truck. Emmett had obviously fixed the panels as they were in better condition than when I had purchased it.

Smiling, I thanked her sincerely and she smiled, albeit finitely small.

It was when she was instructing me to check my water and the presence of a brake cord that I heard Emmett approaching.

In a stealthy manner.

His footsteps were slowed and lighter than usual so I deduced that he was planning to give me a fright.

Rosalie's expression did not change, but I saw her eyes refocus and dilate as she looked past me.

I was well aware of Emmett's presence, of his approach, but what I hadn't expected was for him to grab a tight hold on my shoulder.

What none of us had expected was my reaction.

I reacted on pure defensive instinct.

Tensing, I grabbed Emmett's hand in a vice grip and stepped forwards enough to spin, and literally ripped his arm clean from his body.

The arm coming away with the screech of tearing metal.

Using his arm like a bat I completed my rotation and smashed it into his ribs. Sending him flying sideways, luckily out the open garage roller door. He landed a decent 50 metres away, skidding to a stop on the gravel driveway.

Time seemed to stop as the witness, Rosalie, was too shocked to do anything other than stand where she was and stare at me in a mixture of pure disbelief and, well, disbelief.

There were no other words to express what her expression portrayed.

The fearsome blonde recovered herself and turned defensive of her mate.

She crouched into an offensive stance. I was still on attack mode and mirrored her stance instantly, tossing Emmett's arm away, a low growl rumbling deep in my chest.

Alice, surprisingly, reacted immediately as she appeared onto the scene, her topaz eyes darting from Emmett, out on the drive, to his twitching arm on the garage floor, to Rosalie's clenched jaw and fighting stance, to my stance and bared teeth.

While a smaller part of my mind was horrified about what I had done, I couldn't control my over-powering instincts.

Rosalie leapt forwards as Alice darted in front of me, crying "Rosalie, wait!"

She ignored Alice and I pushed my mate aside.

A little too roughly, perhaps, as she flew into the bench, the metal surface groaning and bending under she forcefully crashed into it.

As Rosalie charged forwards I stepped towards her and grabbed her by the throat. Her feet swung forwards as the top half of her body was brought to an abrupt halt.

In one swift motion I lifted her up and slammed her back into the concrete floor.

The ground gave way, forming a large Rosalie-sized crater instantly.

"Bella!" Alice cried to me, and I ignored her as I straightened, still grasping the blonde's throat and threw her out beside her mate.

She was snarling and hissing furiously, flipping her body in the air to land gracefully on her feet.

With a guttural roar she charged forwards again and I stormed out to meet her.

A ferocious roar of my own challenging hers.

She swiped at me and I blocked it easily, the contact of marble-hard forearm against marble-hard forearm, creating a loud explosive noise much like thunder.

A second thunderous crack rung out as I punched her in the jaw with most of my strength.

Her marble hard skin cracked, spidery-webs spreading from the main point of impact outwards.

She let loose a hideous scream of anguish, stumbling back several metres.

"BELLA!" Alice screeched as Rosalie failed to regain her footing before I had grasped a fair fistful of her honey blonde locks.

The sound of my mate's terrified cries broke through my haze and I paused in my movements to slam Rosalie's face into my knee.

"Bella, stop." Alice commanded tearfully and I hesitated before tossing the blonde aside.

My mate was frightened and she was my first priority.

The opponent I was fighting was defeated, and I was simply punishing her for having had the audacity to attack me.

Recovering insanely quickly again, Rosalie rose to her feet and crouched as though she were to attack again.

Alice blocked her and I tensed, prepared to push her aside if Rosalie charged again.

"Rosalie, stop." Alice commanded her voice stern. A tone it rarely ever is.

Too overcome by her raging instincts Rosalie hissed and snarled, baring her teeth in challenge.

I growled, the sound originating from deep in my chest.

It was a clear warning, a clear signal to Rosalie that I wouldn't hesitate to dispatch of her if she made to attack my mate.

The enraged blonde hissed.

"_Bella_," Alice reprimanded sharply, "behave."

I snapped my teeth at her in defiance and continued with my low rumbling growl.

Seeing that Alice wasn't about to step aside Rosalie spoke in a scathing tone, "What is this, Alice? She is no human."

I resented her tone and clenched my fists, itching to punish her further.

"No, Rosalie she isn't, and if you give her enough reason to, she will attack."

Rosalie was wise enough to know when she was out-matched, her very recent defeat – as humiliating and angering as that was – told her enough that I could kill her with ease.

She straightened out of her fighting crouch, but didn't relax.

I stayed crouched, prepared for any type of alarming movement because I didn't trust Rosalie as far as I could kick her.

And I could kick quite far.

...

Emmett's groan filled the silence that had fallen between us and Rosalie turned to see him push himself to his feet with one hand.

"Do you realise how long this'll take to heal?" He moaned and looked over the stump, where his left arm used to be, "I'll be stuck using one hand for hours!"

Rosalie huffed and, watching me carefully, walked past me to retrieve the discarded arm – that was currently finger crawling its way to its owner.

She ripped his shirt and made a makeshift sling from it, tying around his shoulder and arm so that it would heal without her needed to hold it to him.

Alice was still standing in front of me when they came closer. Rosalie guarded Emmett protectively and glared at me.

"Now explain yourself, Alice," she spat, venom lacing every word; "you knew she was not human and yet you continued to deceive us."

Alice took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Yes, I knew Bella wasn't human and I kept her secret because she asked it of me. But it is not my place to tell you why she continued this charade." She looked up at me, silently asking me to explain.

I clenched my jaw and straightened.

"I am as much a vampire as you." I began and Rosalie snorted.

"Then how do you have a heartbeat? I can still hear it pounding away."

"It is my... gift. As Alice can see the future, and Edward can read minds, I can create an illusion about myself. I can make it appear that I have a heartbeat or a blush to my skin. Or I can make it seem as though I am not here at all."

Emmett scoffed, "That's a bit farfetched."

I turned my gaze on him and promptly 'disappeared' from all his senses.

His eyes widened in shock, "Wow that is so cool!" He exclaimed and grinned when I 'reappeared'.

Rosalie appeared unfazed by my disappearing act and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "that doesn't explain why you're pretending to be a human."

I took a deep inhalation and exhaled slowly, "I pretended because I obviously did not want you to know I was a vampire."

"Obviously, but _why not?_" Rosalie persisted and I growled.

I turned to Alice and she reached for my hand, squeezing it in support.

Taking a deep breath I turned back to Rosalie, "Because I..." I paused, unsure of how to explain my situation.

Alice noticed my struggle, "Because she's being chased."

Both Rosalie and Emmett frowned, "What exactly does that mean?"

Alice glanced up at me, unsure whether she should be the one to tell my story. I took another, deeper breath, "I was turned by a vampire, who found me to be fascinating enough as a human to turn me and see what I would be like as a vampire. From the time I woke and since I have been fleeing him."

Rosalie was studying me with an expression more intent than I'd seen on her and I scratched the back of my neck.

"How long ago was this?"

I thought it was too soon to reveal exactly how old I was so I shrugged, "Some time ago."

The statuesque blonde's eyes narrowed in suspicion but she seemed to sense that I was more unwilling to reveal my age than I was anything else.

She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head at me, "So this is your big secret?"

I nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Do you know who pursues you?" Emmett asked and I looked at him, shaking my head.

"No. I don't."

He frowned, "then how do you know he's still chasing you? I mean, with your ability, surely he would have given up?"

I shook my head, "the last time I assumed that, he reappeared and very nearly captured me."

At that moment Esme arrived on the scene, "What on Earth is going on here?"

We four turned to her simultaneously and Rosalie answered, "It appears our resident human isn't any more human than us."

Esme's concerned look turned into confusion, "What?"

"Bella isn't human, Esme. She just attacked Emmett. Ripped his arm off and used it like a baseball bat."

"And Rosalie like a punching bag." Emmett added on in his usual cheerful voice. As though he and his mate hadn't just been severely beaten.

"What?" Esme repeated, looking at me, "You look and smell as human as you ever have."

Remembering then that my shield was still active I dropped it and Esme's eyes widened in shock as she noticed the subtle changes.

My skin lost its red tinge, my heartbeat disappeared and my skin gave off a slight twinkle as a small ray of sun shone through.

"H-how is this possible?" she stuttered for the first time.

I sighed, "I think you should call Carlisle and Edward. I don't like to talk about this so I don't want to have to repeat myself."

She nodded and hurried into the house, with several backward glances at us.

Alice squeezed my hand and I looked to her, having forgotten she was holding it.

"Come on, we'll wait for them inside."

Edward had gone for a hunt after I'd slapped him and hadn't returned yet. Jasper had gone with him.

Alice led me to the loveseat and sat me down, curling herself as close to me as she could.

"You tore your own brake cord didn't you?" Rosalie spoke and I looked at her in surprise before nodding.

She smirked, "I knew it. But why?"

"Because I needed to destroy my kitchen."

Her eyebrows rose at that, "Whatever for?"

"Because it already had previous damage and with Edward stalking me, he would have noticed the repairs I'd made myself. For no apparent reason."

Rosalie frowned at my words, "What do you mean by Edward stalking you?"

Alice answered for me, "He snuck into her room one night, when she was sleeping. And again the time she left for Seattle. He noticed some changes to the room and window and it made him suspicious."

This angered Rosalie more than I would have thought, "You mean that's where he went those nights? To watch you 'sleep' like some... perverted peeping-tom?" She hissed and clenched her fists furiously.

I nodded and before I could respond Edward, Jasper and Carlisle arrived.

"What's going on here?" Edward asked first and he looked at me in shock, "what's wrong with you?"

Jumping to conclusions he hissed at Alice, "You changed her?"

His tone was dangerous enough that I rose to my feet and hissed.

But before I could rebuke him Esme laid a hand on his shoulder.

"No, Edward, Alice didn't. And besides she was 'human' last night. The change takes at least three days."

He frowned, "Then what is going on here?"

Alice sighed, "That's what we are trying to get to but you've not given us a chance to explain."

"You mean to say you knew about this, Alice?" Carlisle spoke for the first time. His voice was calm, non-threatening, so I didn't feel the need to defend her.

She nodded grimly, "Yes and I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you. But it wasn't my secret to tell."

The eldest Cullen nodded and looked to me, "and I suppose you've called us back to explain."

I nodded grimly and repeated what I'd already told Rosalie and Emmett.

They kept a respectable silence as I spoke but as soon as I stopped Edward leapt in, "Why not tell us? We wouldn't have betrayed you. We would have helped protect you."

I looked at him, "because nothing in your behaviour this past month has made me feel as though you were trustworthy. Thrice you have broken into my home and invaded my privacy. Twice you have approached me with inappropriate propositions and once initiated inappropriate contact. You have insulted my mate and therefore insulted me."

He had the decency to look ashamed and he dropped silent, however Esme gave him a sharp look.

"We'll talk about your behaviour later, Edward." She warned in a motherly, threatening tone and he blanched.

"How long has this man pursued you?" Esme turned to me in concern.

"Since I woke." I answered and she frowned.

"How old are you?" She reworded her question bluntly.

I looked at Alice and she nodded, encouraging me to tell them.

"Nearly 3000 years." I answered, looking to my knees.

The room filled with surprised gasps and Emmett's 'seriously?'

"You're three _thousand_ years old?" Edward asked in shock and I nodded.

"Unbelievable." He breathed and I shrugged.

"So were you around for the rise of the Volturi?" Carlisle asked and I looked at him in surprise.

"Who?"

Everyone looked at me in shock then, "You don't know the Volturi?" Alice asked and I shook my head.

"Should I?"

"Well, yeah! They are the leaders of vampires. They're the 'royal' family. They govern us, keep us in line and ensure that the existence of vampires is kept secret. How can you been 3000 years old and not know of them?"

I shrugged, "I've never kept company. And Jasper never mentioned them."

I gave him a refuting look and he dropped his head in embarrassment. Twice now he has failed to tell me information of great importance and I couldn't help but wonder what else he had been keeping from me.

"Wait, you know Jasper? Like, before we introduced you?" Emmett asked in surprise.

Jasper and I shared a smile, "Yes. He was the first vampire I've ever befriended." I answered and he added, "And she is the one who helped me escape Maria."

Everyone's, bar Alice, eyebrows rose at that information.

Emmett whistled, "Impressive..."

The family nodded their agreement, Emmett was watching me with a new-found respect and Carlisle was studying me seriously.

"I think you and I need to have a conversation Bella. There is obviously much you need to learn."

I nodded, "yes, and it would be my suggestion we not delay this any longer."

He agreed and gestured that I follow him to his study.

...

I followed Carlisle into his study and looked around. I hadn't been in here before, and I was fascinated by the room that the leader of this coven spent a majority of his time, outside the hospital, in.

I looked around, examining the desk momentarily before quickly checking through his impressive sized book collection.

When I examined the wall beside the door, I froze in horrified terror.

The centralised portrait hanging on the wall displayed four men. Two of whom I recognised instantly.

The blonde male was Carlisle.

But the man on Carlisle's left was a face I could never forget. His long raven hair styled in the same manner it had been that night, nearly 3000 years ago.

Abruptly the terror changed into fury so strong it vibrated throughout my body and tinted my vision a bloody red.

Carlisle noticed where my attention was and noticed the change in my posture.

"Bella?" He asked in confused concern.

His calm, quietly spoken voice broke through my frozen state and I roared to life.

Snarling viciously I spun and grabbed his throat, lifting him and slammed him in the wall.

"You've lied to me," I hissed, venom coating my voice, "I should _never_ have trusted you or your coven."

Not allowing him to speak further I turned and threw him with all my strength into the opposing wall.

He smashed straight through it, the wall barely slowing his momentum as he flew through the air.

I didn't wait to see where he landed, instead charged through the wall.

Completely ignoring the door.

Edward caught me in the hallway, and I heard the rest approaching rapidly.

"Bella, what is the meaning of this?" He exclaimed in shock.

My response was a furious punch into his jaw, followed by a front kick. The impact cracking like thunder and causing him to fly backwards down the corridor.

Emmett was the next to meet my wrath. Intercepting and attempting to block me on the staircase I didn't even allow him to speak.

As I was higher I simply kicked out, spinning on my grounded foot I hit the side of his head. And in another thunderous crack he crashed through the banister and to the floor.

Momentarily stunned he didn't move.

Alice cried out to me in horror, "Bella, what the hell are you doing?"

I roared and snarled at her in fury, "Do _not_ speak to me you traitorous bitch. You've deceived me from the very beginning."

My vision was tinted red and I was so enraged, so filled with loathing hatred it overpowered my baser instinct of protecting my mate.

Instead I attacked her.

Leaping forwards in a movement faster than she could comprehend I smashed my fist down into the base of her neck.

A spot only a few hours ago I had kissed and nipped to bring her pleasure.

She howled in surprised pain and collapsed to the floor. Through the floor would be a more accurate description.

Jasper was my next attacker. He approached with more caution, but I ignored his skilful attack and instead used my superior brute strength and speed.

Charging forwards I threw an upper-cut punch into the underside of his jaw.

The skin cracked and his feet left the ground. He flew back, smashing into Rosalie and taking them both out.

Esme was wise enough not to confront me and I screeched my anguish before smashing through the closed French doors that looked out to the Olympian reserve.

Shielding myself from the world I escaped.

I ran and ran, at a speed so fast there was little to no chance the Cullen's could follow.

I ran, hoping to outrun the ever increasing anguish of the betrayal.

I ran, hoping that this heartbreak would get left behind.

I ran, hoping.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

I hadn't known fear until I looked into the eyes of my mate.

I hadn't seen true hatred until her eyes locked onto mine.

I hadn't known true pain until she pummelled me into the ground in one swift blow, so fast I'd not known what had hit me.

Bella had stormed through my home.

Incapacitated my family with unnerving ease.

She had thrown Carlisle out of his study, of the house, as though he weighed nothing.

She had punched and kicked Edward, so hard his rib cage and jaw had been broken.

She'd broken Emmett's neck with one kick.

And while a broken neck wouldn't kill us, it would stun us until the bones could be realigned to heal correctly.

My collarbone had been shattered as severely as the ground I'd broken through.

Jasper's jaw was broken and dislocated.

Rosalie was still recovering from her earlier encounter with Bella, but she wasn't harmed this round.

And Esme had been spared, thankfully, though her house was destroyed.

...

I couldn't process what had happened. One moment I was sitting in the lounge with the others while Carlisle talked with Bella, next there is a ferocious snarl that I immediately recognised to be Bella's.

And then there's a thud of a body hitting the wall, followed by a crash.

Edward had raced up first, only to come flying back down seconds later.

I stood in time to watch Bella appear at the top of the stairs, and as she viciously kicked Emmett.

I had attempted to ask her what happened, expecting that I'd be able to calm her as I'd done earlier. But the way she looked at me, an expression so furious, and heartbroken... it stopped me in my tracks.

My mind froze in utter shock.

And then she'd snarled at me, swearing and accusing me.

The last thing I'd thought possible occurred.

My mate, who'd done nothing else but protect me, had been the one to attack me.

She leapt at me, in a motion that was little more than a blur to my eyes. Next instant there is an incredible pain radiating from my shoulder and I waist deep in concrete and flooring.

My mate, my Bella had attacked me.

She'd _attacked_ me.

_Me._

Her mate.

...

Even as I sat on the floor, as Esme had immediately rushed over to pull me out, I couldn't believe it.

Bella had been possessive, she'd been protective.

She'd been loving and affectionate only hours ago.

But just now, I'd seen none of that. None of the loving, kind Bella I'd come to know.

No, she'd been ferocious. Brutal and wild as she mowed down my family.

She only ever growled under her breath at me.

But today? This morning?

She'd snarled and hissed so viciously, I'd been scared for my life.

My mate who'd promised to fight _for_ me, to protect me.

She'd personally been the one to do me the most physical harm I'd ever experienced.

My mind simply could not comprehend it.

My heart could not believe it.

...

I hissed as a new wave of pain radiated and Carlisle mumbled a quiet apology.

He told me what my body already knew. My collarbone was broken, shattered really, and I'd be stuck in a sling for hours while the venom in my system healed me.

There was no way for Carlisle to be sure the bones would repair themselves correctly, but he thought if perhaps they didn't, he'd re-break them and put me in a temporary cast.

I hoped they healed correctly.

This amount of healing required that I hunt.

The pain in my shoulder was sharp, intense but held nothing in comparison to the pain in my chest.

The pain in my unbeating heart.

...

I watched as Carlisle bent over Emmett and gently, but forcefully, realigned his neck with a sharp crack.

Rosalie breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Emmett blinked and sat up, rubbing his neck.

"God, I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

Rosalie clucked her tongue, "you'd have done more damage to the truck, Emmett."

He looked at her, about to retort, but saw something in her expression that stopped him. Lifting his free hand he cupped her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"I'm alright, Rose," he told her in a quiet under tone, "I'm alright."

She nodded and caught his lips in a brief but passionate kiss.

I turned away as a wave of envious grief crashed through me.

That could have been Bella and I.

Should have been.

The family congregated together around me and Jasper asked Carlisle the question I hadn't dared voice.

"What happened, Carlisle?"

He looked at me with a solemn expression.

"I'm not sure. But I believe it has to do with the Volturi. When she stepped into the room, the moment she saw the portrait of myself and the Volturi, was the moment her entire disposition changed. She tensed, even vibrated, and turned on me. She attacked, accusing me of betrayal and, in a display of strength I've not seen before, threw me out of the house."

A horrible thought occurred to me, at his words.

"She called me traitorous..." I looked up at him with wide eyes, "I think we've just discovered who her sire is."

Everyone looked at me but Edward was the one to voice everyone's thoughts, "what do you mean?"

I swallowed convulsively, "She is terrified of him. He turned her and has been chasing her ever since. This is the only explanation I can think of that makes sense.

"The only times she has ever lost hold of her control is in situations that remind her of him. Of the moment in her life when he turned her. And for something to cause a reaction this powerful. For her to have attacked _me_? She had to have seen him in that portrait, Carlisle.

"She saw him and immediately jumped to the conclusion that you are in league with him. And through you, being our leader, the rest of us must be too."

I watched as my words were processed by my family and I felt in my heart that I was right in my conclusion.

No one terrified Bella as much as her sire, a man she did not know, whom had done nothing but chase her for nigh on 3000 years.

Rosalie was the one to question my theory, "but why would she react so violently? I mean, she was absolutely brutal and she attacked _you_. Her mate."

I nodded, "tell me Rosalie, can you," I looked at my family, "can any of you, imagine how you would have become if your only memory of this man is when he bit into your neck? If he started that burning, that hellish fire in your blood? And then, once that burning has finally finished, that you wake and find that same man in the room you've just woken in. It's a strange, unfamiliar room. You can't remember how you got there, your memories are foggy of who exactly you are. But the one _solid_ thing that you know, with complete certainty, is that that man. That strangely gorgeous man is responsible for your earlier pain.

"And then that unfamiliar man approaches you. He approaches you, but you still don't know him.

"So you run. And for three thousand years you run from this man. This strange, dangerous man who installed fear into you as a human. You run from him, and you do so alone.

"In complete solitary.

"We are frozen as we are. Our personality, everything that makes us, _us_, is frozen. So when your strongest emotion, when you are frozen, is fear. Fear of this man. What would you do when after 3000 years you finally open up to another, only to learn that this other, this person you've begun to trust, is a part of a coven whose leader is painted in a historic portrait sitting on the right hand of that man who's terrorised you?"

I saw in the faces of my family that they finally understood what Bella had been through. Three thousand years is an amount of time even a 300 year-old immortal struggles to comprehend.

"But do we know which Volturi member it was?" Emmett asked, his deep voice serious.

"I have my suspicions about Aro. One thing Bella could never figure out was how he was constantly able to find her, even when she used some seriously skilled moves to confuse her trail.

"She later figured out that vampires she passed were behaving as witnesses, and with Aro, it would only take a single touch to determine if they'd seen her."

Jasper frowned, deeply disturbed by the thought that the man behind the creation of the Volturi was the one who had been terrorising Bella. "But does that fit in with his character? I mean, she was just a human when he would have met her. Plus he would have been a young vampire at the time. Would he have had enough control then?"

I looked to Carlisle whose expression was unreadable.

"It does fit with what I learnt of Aro. The man has always been power hungry, and has had a fascination with powers. He is a collector and what would be rarer than a human who had the power to block his? From what I can theorise, due to the manifestation of her powers now, is that just before he'd moved to kill her, he'd come to realise her thoughts weren't flooding his mind. What could be more fascinating to a collector than a human with the power to resist his own? He is incredibly curious, and I'd be willing to bet his curiosity over-ruled his thirst."

The room filled with murmured whispers of agreement and I knew then I was right about Aro being the one to change and harass Bella.

Rosalie had grown pensive and Edward's head suddenly whipped in her direction.

"What was that?" He asked in shock and Rosalie lifted her head sharply.

Her thoughtful expression turned scathing and she snarled, "Stay out of my head, Edward."

He ignored her; used to her annoyance when he caught a thought she hadn't wanted him to.

"What was it, Rosalie?"

She snarled and stormed from the room. I watched her leave in surprise before looking to Edward.

"What did you hear?"

His brow furrowed, "I'm not entirely sure, but was thinking about her past amongst over things I couldn't decipher."

'_What would Rosalie's past have to do with Bella?'_

It was obviously a question Edward wanted the answer to because he nodded absently, in agreement with my thoughts.

"Carlisle, I want to go after Bella." I announced as calmly as I could.

He looked at me, not very surprised by my decision.

"How would you find her? She said herself that her shield prevents anyone from tracking her."

I nodded, "yes, but I think I've a way to work around her ability to block my visions."

He raised his eyebrows and I explained, "If she blocks me from having visions, all I need to do is make a decision on where to go, and if I receive a vision then I know that isn't where she is. Instead of looking for where she is, I just need to look for where she isn't and cancel those routes as places to go."

"But that could take years, Alice. And what would you do if you find her? She is in a volatile mood; she's dangerous and believes that you've betrayed her. If she attacks you, with intent to kill, you won't stand a chance."

I nodded, well aware of that possibility, "yes, but she is my mate, Carlisle. I can't _not_ try."

He sighed, "I know that, Alice. But you have school -"

I cut him off before he could finish that sentence, "_Carlisle_, don't be ridiculous. I have graduated high school _43_ times and College _6_. I've more degrees than I know what to do with so don't for a second think I feel any responsibility for attending a mundane _human_ educational institute. This is my _mate_ we are discussing. My _mate,_ and you think I'd put school over it? You have Esme, you have _your_ mate_,_ so don't think anything you say will deter me from attempting to find mine.

"This isn't some silly crush, someone to warm my bed. This is my _mate_. And I will do everything possible, everything within my power, to find her and bring her back.

"Because I cannot, and will not, live on without her. She can very well kill me, because I can't go on for eternity without her by my side."

By the time I was finished I was inches from him, poking his chest with a finger on my good hand.

His eyes had widened and he actually took a step back in fear. I had never spoken with such venom, such anger and it frightened him.

Part of me was shocked at my outburst, but the majority of my mind was angry at Carlisle for his ridiculous notion that school could hold any importance to me.

He knew as well as I did that Edward, Emmett, Rosalie and I only attended school to prevent rumours from spreading.

To keep suspicion off of our family and to allow Carlisle to continue his physician work.

"Honestly, Carlisle, what were you thinking? Suggesting that school be something Alice takes into consideration before she ventures off to find her love." Rosalie had reappeared and was looking at Carlisle with amused reproach.

I smiled at her and then received a brief vision of her requesting some time alone with me before I left.

Nodding to her, I waited for Carlisle to speak.

Evidently feeling the scorn of his family he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I apologise, Alice, I hadn't really thought through my words. I had merely been thinking that it would perhaps be a strange occurrence that you and Bella both disappear."

I nodded, "I know Carlisle but I'm sure you can think of some legitimate excuse. Even say she was injured when she crashed through her house. But I can't delay. You've seen her speed. The longer I wait, the further she gets away."

He nodded in understanding, "Very well, I shall write a note explaining your absence and hers. Take the satellite phone and some spare batteries. Call us as soon as you find anything." He clasped my shoulder, "and good luck."

I nodded and Esme grabbed me into a loose hug, aware of my injuries.

"I wish you wouldn't go, but I'll not stop you. I know you need this, but please, Alice, be safe."

She kissed my cheek and I gave her a weak smile.

Edward simply nodded and I understood he still wasn't entirely happy about my taking Bella's heart. Emmett picked me up in an awkward one armed type of hug.

"Be safe, Shorty. And come home with ya girl. I want a rematch."

Weak smiles seemed to be the only type of smile I was capable of as he set me on my feet.

Rosalie and Jasper both told me they'd walk me out.

...

When we were out of range of the house Rosalie politely asked Jasper if she could have some time alone with me.

He agreed, saying he would go hunt and start his own search for Bella. Since he had known her longer he thought he could track her from habits she had developed.

Once he was out of sight Rosalie indicated I should follow her.

I did as much with trepidation, not entirely sure what her motives were.

She was making split second decisions, or inconsequential ones that told me nothing other than where she wanted to go.

Once she came to a stop in a small clearing she turned back to me with a solemn expression.

"What is this about, Rosalie?" I asked, getting more concerned as the minutes passed.

She swallowed and regarded me seriously.

"It's about Bella," I let her gather her thoughts as she gestured for me to take a seat on a large boulder. "I believe there is more to her outburst than what you thought."

I frowned as my confusion deepened, "what else could there be?"

She took a deep breath, "before I... voice my theory I need you to answer me honestly."

As perplexed as I was I nodded and she clenched her fists sporadically.

"When you're... intimate with her, has she ever... initiated the contact?"

If I'd been hoping her line of questioning would enlighten me to what she really wanted to discuss I was sorely disappointed. Her question just left me more mystified.

"Well... yes. Every once in a while."

She shook her head, "Perhaps I should reword that differently. Besides kissing, has she ever caressed you? Intimately."

Thankful I couldn't blush I nodded, "yes. But it's usually innocent enough. I mean, only once has she ever... moved for second base. But I stopped her."

Rosalie nodded, as if my words were confirming something in her mind.

"And have you ever..."

I shook my head, "no. I mean, the first time I touched her during, well, our first kiss she threw me through the wall."

I hadn't expected this news to be as important as Rosalie's wide eyes told me it was.

"Where did you touch her?" She asked impatiently and I shrugged.

"I grasped her waist."

This too was more important than originally thought because she stood and hissed.

"Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it." She started cursing and then abruptly slammed her fist into the boulder she'd just vacated.

"Rosalie, what? What's going on?"

When she turned to look at me my dead heart squeezed. Her eyes were so grave, so sad and mournful my breath caught in my throat.

I'd seen that look before.

In fact, I saw it every year, on one day.

The anniversary of the day she was turned.

The day when Carlisle found her, on the street after her fiancée and friends had brutally beaten and gang-raped her.

She got this exact look in her eye and would leave us. Even Emmett.

"No," I breathed, not wanted to believe it.

Forcing myself to not believe it.

"You've seen how she reacts to a touch she's not expecting. She attacked you because during an intimate moment you held her waist. She ripped Emmett's arm off because he grabbed her shoulder. She lost complete control when she 'realised' you were involved with her sire."

"No." I repeated.

Standing I began to back away from her.

Repeating 'no' like a mantra.

Hoping if I said it enough times that it would make it so.

"Alice," Rosalie called gently.

She was never gentle.

And it was this kind tone from her that caused my denial to crumble.

The grief overran me and I collapsed to my knees in anguish. Dry heaving sobs racked my body and I cursed myself for my inability to shed tears.

"Rosalie, no." I keened and she wrapped her arms around me.

Holding me together as I broke apart.

She didn't coddle me, didn't shush me or whisper sweet nothings in my ear to make me feel better.

No, she did something better.

My sister simply held me as I cried, as much as my vampiric body would allow, into her chest, my hands gripping her shirt.

Eventually the shudders slowed down their frequency, but I still clung to her.

"Surely, though, Aro wouldn't..." I couldn't finish, but I didn't need to.

Rosalie took a moment to gather herself, "Rape is rarely about the sex. It's mostly about power. Aro knew if he was to keep Bella, once she was a newborn and her strength would over-power his, that she needed to fear him. He would have known the best way to ascertain dominance and power would be to rape her. If she woke as a vampire and feared him, psychologically she would be incapable of fighting him, because he'd already over-powered her once. She'd been frozen with this knowledge, that he was a vampire and stronger than her."

I pulled away from Rosalie in a sharp, sudden movement as anger so profound my arms trembled with it.

I'd never wanted to kill someone, never hated someone that much until then.

Aro Volturi had harmed my mate.

"I'll kill him." I hissed and Rosalie stood in front of me.

"Don't be ridiculous, Alice. He is older than Bella, and look at what she did to us. You wouldn't stand a chance, and all you'd accomplish would be to give Aro an incredible amount of information about her. At this moment he doesn't know her. Doesn't know her name or the exact capabilities of her powers. All he knows is what she looks like. If you attacked him, it would take a single brush of skin for him to get everything you've learnt, and then he'd be able to use you as a means to get to her."

I hated Rosalie's logic.

I hated that she made such inarguable sense.

I hated that I was unable to do anything with this rage. I needed to break something, do something productive.

My mate had been violated in the worst possible way. She's been raped by a vampire, and then changed into one.

God, I felt so foolish for not having pieced together the clues earlier.

All the aversions of male touch at school. I'd seen for myself her cleverly crafted moves to avoid Mike Newton's arm.

The way she carefully positioned herself at the cafeteria tables so that no part of her body could or would brush against another's.

I'd naively ignored all the signs.

Ignored or not noticed until now.

And acknowledging it now was like a slap in the face.

"Oh, god." I moaned, "How could I have not seen this? Why hadn't see told me?" I looked to Rosalie in desperation, "she would have told me?"

Her eyes blinked slowly, "I never told anyone. Not until you'd gained my trust."

It was like a punch in the chest, her words spoken so quietly. Calmly almost.

But still it was like someone was physically squeezing my heart, my dead, unbeating heart, with a vampires iron grip.

"I need to find her." I whispered and Rosalie nodded.

There were no more need for words and I grasped her hand.

She gave me a gentle squeeze, and let me go.

Closing my eyes I begin searching, making rapid decisions of a direction and give continuing in the direction.

There were some many places to search, so many possible paths to take.

For hours I stood still, eyes closed and searching until suddenly my vision stopped.

There was no plausible explanation for its abrupt ending, except that something must have interrupted it.

And the only thing out there that could have ended that vision was Bella.

I'd found her.

Or at least, found the general direction she was in.

My vision had ended around Marysville, so I knew she'd literally taken off and just run in a near dead straight line.

Right through the Olympic National Park and swam Port Madison.

For her to have reached that point, in the few hours I'd been searching, she must have been running full speed.

I knew that the only chance I'd have of catching her would be if she stopped running, for just a few hours and if I was lucky enough that I'd pick the right area.

Because as much as I hoped that she'd stay put, I knew that even if I managed to get in the same region as her. The same small area, the chances of that were slim.

She had an ability that made her completely invisible to all my senses. She could well have been standing directly beside me and I'd not have known.

And even if by some miracle I managed to find her, I had no idea if she'd even take the time to hear me out.

There was a high possibility she would escape again, or turn on me and attack.

Knowing I couldn't waste another second I leapt forwards, running at my full speed.

Most runs I took, hunting or otherwise, I never pushed myself.

Yes, I ran fast, I loved the sensation of the ground flashing beneath me as I travelled at a speed unmatched by any other beast, unless they were vampire or werewolf.

But I rarely ran at my full capable speed.

It was a powerful experience, to be the fastest predator alive.

It was the closest to free-flying you could get, you feet touching the ground for less than a half, even quarter, second.

My kind ghosted over the ground, making almost no contact with the ground, which made little sense if you thought of physics. Every action having an equal and opposite, so the force required to push us to the speeds we travelled at should in all theory create crater sized holes in the ground.

But they didn't. In fact barely a footprint was left.

Vampires didn't track by footprints. No, it was mainly scent left behind, or the disruption of scenery.

Like a broken fern leave, or scratched tree trunk.

Bella had done this for too long to have left any of these things behind, she was as expert as anyone could possibly hope to get. And she couldn't have left behind a scent because well, if she had I wouldn't have recognised it.

Her scent was tied in with her power, so the manipulation of our senses allowed for Bella to manipulate what we perceived her scent to be.

And since she had never completely dropped her shield around me, I had no idea what her true scent was like.

She's told me once that it was a strangely alluring scent, strange because vampires are not allured by the scent of another vampire. Sure, scents can be attractive, or sweet but never alluring. Never desirable in a way humans are.

I hunted on the way, stopping and killing a large elk quickly and thoroughly before continuing on. There was no time to waste, but I couldn't well face her when I was weakened by the intensive healing my body had undergone.

The Olympian National Park eventually ended, the trees slowly fanning out and I looked ahead, making sure I wouldn't cross any humans.

Luckily for me there was no traffic yet and I knew I would make it to at least the outskirts of Marysville without issue.

Marysville itself was a mystery. Bella was apparently still there, for whatever reasons, and so I couldn't see myself in it.

Since I'd made no specific decisions on where exactly I'd be in Marysville, the entire area was a blank.

Or it could be because Bella was making rapid decisions that involved the span of Marysville.

I prayed that was the case, because it meant she'd be there for longer.

I was still a good several hours from arriving.

The moon was right above my head when I finally arrived in Marysville. It was still a blank so I immediately refined my search.

Starting with town I branched out. When I got to the Middle School, or had meant to scan the Middle School it went blank.

_Got her._

Excitement buzzed through me and I started off again, taking the shortest route there. Running through human's property, jumping there fences and awakening their dogs who could sense me even though I was long gone before they'd begun barking.

I made it to the running track and called out to Bella. Looking around I couldn't see a damned thing, it was deserted for all appearances but that meant little when it came to Bella's gift.

"Bella!" I called again, eyes scanning the area compulsively, as though she would suddenly materialize in front of me.

Reflexively I looked for a vision, and fell into one.

It was just me, standing alone in an entirely empty Middle School's running track.

Coming out of it I sunk to my knees as despair crippled me.

I'd been _so_ close.

_So close._

She'd been here, that much I knew. I couldn't explain how I knew, but I felt it.

Her presence.

She'd been here but she'd left.

Be it before I'd arrived, or because I'd arrived.

She'd been here and so I knew for certain my technique worked.

And all I had to do was get lucky enough to catch her again.

Because, really, it all came down to luck.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Right, before you read this chapter, I'll make a note that I have gone through and edited the last 15 chapters because it was brought to my attention, by some attentive readers (thanks guys, you rock) that there were actually some serious discrepancy errors.**

**I've edited them out, and even added some scenes here and there. Nothing plot defining, but just smickets of information for fun.**

**Also, I totally want to thank Avarenda for her assistance in the lining of this chapter, I was seriously hit by a huge writer's block and she gave me some great ideas and inspiration.**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Alice, it's been two months -" Edward began and I cut him off angrily.

"I don't really _care_ how long it's been, Edward. I still haven't found her and I won't quit until I have."

He sighed, "Come on, Alice, if Bella _wanted_ to be found you would have found her by now. You've been all over America, chasing after these non-visions. Do we even know that Bella is responsible for them?"

I growled at him, at his words.

"Alice, look, it's apparent that Bella doesn't want to be found. She is an ancient, an ancient vampire who has been alone for far too long. Too long to know how to react to this kind of situation. You need to accept the fact that you can't catch her this way. She is doing what she does best, running and hiding. She has done it with Aro for three thousand years and she'll do it with you for as long as her anger and feelings of betrayal power her. Perhaps once she has calmed, she may return.

"I know this is hurtful for you, Alice, but you _need_ to know when to quit. Come home, Esme misses you terribly."

My growl increased in tempo at his guilt trip. He knew how much I loved Esme, and how I hated making my adoptive mother, the only mother I'd ever known, upset.

Esme had become my mother in every way besides blood relation. I didn't remember my mother, or really know what a mother would be like and so in the beginning I hadn't known how to react to her motherly care for me.

I had arrived at the Cullen's home alone, knowing more things about this family than I should have. And Esme hadn't even cared that I was this complete stranger calling her by her name, knowing intimate details about her and her makeshift family.

She had given me a peculiar look, questioned my sanity briefly before opening her arms, and her heart, and welcoming me into her clan.

I rarely took chances, rarely made any decision without knowing the exact outcome. For all appearances I was impulsive, but the nature of my gift, my power, allowed me to know exactly how any decision, any choice, regardless of importance, would turn out.

So I knew how I'd be received in the Cullen household, I knew I'd get several strange, and often suspicious, looks but I knew it would all turn out fine.

Better than fine really, but I knew.

What I hadn't known though, was what it would feel like to have a caring mother. Esme's protective and instant love for me had on more than several occasions rendered me speechless.

It was often unnerving to be taken by surprise, but in this case, I enjoyed the surprises immensely.

Edward knew how much I cared for Esme, and for him to insinuate how much my absence was hurting her, the only mother I'd ever known and ever would know, was a low blow and I growled at him.

"Don't go there, Edward. Esme understands exactly why I'm away and she wouldn't discourage me from finding my mate. Just as she wouldn't discourage you in any choices you made regarding your mate, should you find them."

There was a brief pause before Edward sighed, "I know and I'm sorry, Alice. But, I miss you. The family misses you."

Swallowing I held down the rising emotions, "And I miss you as well. But Bella, she _needs_ me, Edward. Now more than she ever did and I can't quit."

I heard a rustling noise, unyielding marble hard skin rubbing against the ceramic of the earpiece and knew Edward was nodding.

As irritating as he had been with his distaste at my relationship with Bella, and even his pursuing of her, regardless of her obvious disinterest, he was still my adoptive brother. Still knew me inside and out and still cared about my happiness.

And since Bella was a huge part of that happiness, he had little choice but to accept it.

We shared some small pleasantries before the warning on my satellite phone alerted me to low battery and I was forced to disconnect.

But not before he told me Jasper still had not returned, and hadn't contacted them with any news, so I knew he had none.

I placed the phone back into my jacket pocket and took a deep breath. This constant cycle of searching visions and giving chase was becoming increasingly tiresome.

I felt as though I were getting nowhere.

I'd travelled nearly all of America with no more close calls of catching Bella.

I knew in my heart she had been at that Middle School running track, but I couldn't tell if she'd still been there when I'd arrived and called for her.

With her ability, it was impossible to tell and all this guess work with no visible results was irking.

Closing my eyes I scanned my future, making firm decisions to travel in one direction only to change my mind as soon as a vision began.

Running eastbound I studiously scanned my perimeter, searching for any clue, and small thing that could have been caused by something other than a wild animal.

Not surprisingly however, there was nothing.

Bella was as much a master at this game of hide and seek as one could possibly get, and the only advantage I had over Aro, was my visions. Or lack thereof.

Looking around the area I realised I'd been here before.

Well, that wasn't really all that surprising as I'd been to every state in America, but as I broke free of the tree line I realised I knew this place intimately.

It was near where I'd meet Jasper for the very first time.

_In fact..._ turning around I ran back into the thick forest and manoeuvred my way round, only stopping when I saw that the exact log I'd bounded over to reveal Jasper was still lying there. Though, it was severely rotted now.

Inhaling I recognised something, but as I took another deep breathe, I couldn't quite identify it.

The scent was a soft combination of both freesia and lavender, and as I knew no lavender grew in this area I realised exactly what it could be.

My eyes shot open and I spun on my heel.

It hadn't been a vision. It hadn't even been lack of a vision.

Had I been human and capable of physical reactions, the hair on the back of my neck would have been standing on end.

Perhaps, even, the hair on my arms also would have been raised.

Because something, or someone, was watching me.

My senses were on high alert and I scrutinised everything directly in front of me.

Only once before had I had this sensation, when I fought with my family over Bella and had run off into the woods by myself.

I had been watched then, and I was being watched now.

Bella had admitted she'd spied on me that one time, after I'd explained the sensation.

She'd been incredibly surprised when I told her I'd felt as though someone were watching, but as I couldn't smell, hear or see anyone, I'd written it off.

But now?

Now I was sure Bella was once again watching me.

I narrowed my eyes in concentration and stopped breathing when I saw, what can only be described as a shimmer, in the air.

My mind immediately produced a plausible solution for this shimmer. This waver in the air.

Bella's shield was creating that shimmer, that wavering of the air in a specific spot, and I called to her.

"Bella!" and the shimmer shifted.

It drifted and disappeared so smoothly I'd nearly thought I'd imagined it.

I gave chase and called again.

If her shield was shimmering, it meant her energy stores, or whatever she described them as, were low and she was losing control of this part of her power.

I remembered her explaining it to me, months ago.

The colour of her eyes was an indicator to the level of 'energy' she had. The energy to control and use her 'shield' was from the blood she consumed, which was why she was forced to consume twice as much quantity of blood as an average vampire.

As she had both her 'energy' to replenish, and her thirst to satiate.

For me to see a shimmer meant that the illusion she held over my sense of sight was faltering. She was losing power to trick my senses and I had a solid chance of catching her.

She may be faster than me, but if her control over my senses was failing, then there was a chance... _yes_! I could smell her!

Her scent, the one I'd smelt just before, freesia and lavender, was patchy, as though her shield was flickering on and off as she ran, but still had a distinct enough trail for me to follow.

I chased her, running full tilt.

My breathing was rushed with the excitement and anticipation of perhaps, _finally,_ catching her.

I weaved in and out of trees, leapt over logs and spun to avoid stray vines.

I stopped suddenly when an unfamiliar, yet incredibly potent scent assaulted my senses.

'_Marked',_ my mind and senses screamed at me.

This territory was marked by a fellow vampire, but Bella's patchy scent trail continued ahead. She hadn't bothered to avoid the territory and I was anxious to risk losing her.

I paced back and forth a few times before growling and charging forwards.

I wouldn't get another chance like this again and I had to take it.

My instincts rebelled against my decision and I knew I was breaking an unwritten rule about vampires.

Never invade another's marked territory unannounced.

Unless you want to start a territorial fight.

I followed Bella's scent carefully, all the while keeping my senses open to my surrounding environment.

It was due to my alert senses that I knew to duck when a black blur flew towards me. I narrowly missed a furious clothesline and spun on my heel to see the owner of the territory I was invading.

He was a large, dark skinned male with a bald head and thick black eyebrows.

Black eyebrows that were straining towards one another as he glared fiercely.

His white teeth glistened in the soft moonlight and his crimson red eyes flashed.

His thick build matched that of Emmett's as his trunk-like arms tensed and spread out, making him seem even larger.

"You have invaded my territory," he snarled, his deep, husky yet musically smooth voice was low, "it has been clearly marked. How dare you intrude?"

I swallowed nervously, his sheer bulk making me incredibly nervous.

I _had_ invaded his territory, without announcing myself and he had every right to attack me.

I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender, "please, I am just passing through. I've no desire to fight you for this land and I was just tracking the trail of my mate."

He snarled and watched me carefully.

"Why did you not announce yourself?"

I licked my lips in nervousness, his stance was still offensive and I had to pick my words carefully, "I am in a hurry. I apologise profusely, but I need to catch her."

He straightened up slightly, still tensed but not as prepared to attack.

I actually had the feeling he was about to allow me passage when another blur sped towards me in my peripheral vision.

I leapt straight up, flipping backwards in the air, landing several metres away.

A tall raven haired female was standing in front of the male hissing at me. My eyes widened in surprise as she charged forwards again, not allowing me to get a word in.

"Olivia, wait!" the male called but she was ignored him.

Her strikes were fast, furious and wild. She was an incredibly skilled fighter and the only thing keeping me from being struck was my agility.

I moved on the defence; ducking, side stepping, weaving and dodging her strikes with everything I knew.

As her fist flew forwards I twisted my torso, avoiding the blow but was unable to do anything when she curved her arm and then swiped out with a ferocious backhand.

The impact cracked like thunder and I felt my feet leave the ground.

Airborne I spun and twisted so I was able to land on my feet, in time to block the female's second strike.

The contact of marble hard skin on skin created an explosive crack and I used the slight pause in the females attack, as the jarring from the block ricocheted up her arm, to slam my open palm into her sternum.

The air was forced from her lungs and her body was propelled several metres away.

She hissed and snarled in enraged fury and charged forwards again.

Realising words wouldn't get through to her; I knew I'd have to subdue her.

Nimbly ducking her next swipe I spun, grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her back in a motion with so much strength and speed behind it a humans arm would have been dislocated and tore off, I locked her off in a grapple.

Holding that arm there with my right arm, I grabbed a firm hold of her chin and wrenched her neck. Twisting it in such a manner she couldn't bite at me or get any sort of movement without risking her arm being torn off.

She was subdued and just as I opened my mouth to command she calm down, my vision trembles as a vicious blow is struck to the side of my head.

Dazed I stumble to the side, subsequently releasing my hold on the black haired female.

Before my vision has corrected itself a firm hand in wrapped around my neck and I feel myself become airborne because I'm slammed into the ground, in a manoeuvre nearly identical to Bella's when she fought Rosalie.

Grabbing at the thick fingers of the bald male I futilely attempt to peel them from their vice grip hold on my neck.

I'm airborne once more, suspended in the air by the male's hand. My eyes widen in fear as I realise I'm out matched.

I can't get myself out of his grip, my strength no match for his and he has seen my agility so I know he's not foolish enough to toss me around.

My thoughts are justified as I'm pummelled into the ground repetitively.

"Tear her to shreds, Connor,"

My eyes focus on the tall black haired woman, who is currently watching her mate pummel me with a bored expression.

A rumble in the chest of the one named Connor was heard before I'm slammed into the ground once more. He placed a knee firmly on the base of my sternum and grasped a firm hold on my left arm.

Terror seized me and I opened my mouth to scream; only there was no air left in my lungs with which I could use.

His crimson eyes narrowed and I watched as the muscles in his arm rippled and tensed as he prepared to remove my arm.

As fast as his fingers tightened on my forearm, they were removed and a terrifying roar of purified outrage echoed out across the forest.

My body froze in fright, my mind screamed at me to escape from this animalistic scream but I couldn't will my petrified muscles to move.

It took an entire second before my mind registered that Connor was no longer pinning me to the ground and as I sat up, turned to my left, where I sensed he disappeared.

I stared in horror at the scene my eyes see.

Connor, that brute of a man is... he's lying on the grass.

His body's intact from what I can see, but his head?

Well, his head isn't even there. It appears to have been smashed to smithereens.

Olivia, the males mate, stands in the same spot she'd been in, staring in disbelief.

Her blackened eyes are wide open, her jaw hanging open in an incredibly undignified manner.

I follow her gaze to behold a truly terrifying sight.

I had thought I'd seen an enraged Bella before, but the expression on her face now?

The way her light grey eyes seemed to dance with fire behind them?

The way her lips curled back and her fangs were bared?

No.

I didn't have a clue what an angry Bella looked like.

Her stance, the distance between her planted feet, the bending at her knees, the curve of her back and winging off her arms with fingers curled like claws.

She seemed to radiate power.

Radiate rage and the aura of it was astounding.

I didn't need to be Jasper to know just how much rage, how much wrath she felt.

And if her stance hadn't been petrifying enough, the low snarl and constant rumbling from her chest was just... my mind drew a blank for an adjective to describe the emotion it brought forth in me.

Before I'd really absorbed the magnificent and yet terrible sight of Bella, she'd gone.

Moved at such a speed my eyes, my vampiric eyes failed to follow her.

An unearthly screech of pain was released behind me and I spun, pushing myself to my feet in the same motion, in time to watch as a blur crashed down into the vampires collarbone.

Olivia... crumbled.

The blow was delivered with such strength that Olivia's skin, that marble hard, virtually unbreakable skin, crumbled and shattered like glass.

It was like she imploded on herself, the parts of her that weren't in direct line of Bella's strike just, caved in.

It wasn't really all too surprising that the vampire didn't move once what remained of her fell to the ground. I couldn't see even the greatest healing factor in the world recover from such a blow.

Once the dust, the particles of Olivia that were so small were able to 'float' on the air, settled Bella turned to me. Her cloudy white eyes were unreadable.

However much I wanted to move, my body was once more ignoring what my mind kept telling it to do. I desperately wanted to run into her arms, to kiss her lips and hold her until time ended.

But I couldn't.

I physically could not move my feet.

And for speaking? Moving my voice box?

That was beyond me too, since that bit of air I'd lost when Connor had crushed me beneath his knee had yet to return.

I couldn't speak, couldn't move. Couldn't do anything but stare at Bella.

At my mate.

She stood still as a statue, before glaring at me.

"What the hell were you _thinking?_" She hissed and I drew back in surprise.

"This was clearly_ marked_ _territory_, and you just ran on in? You could well have been killed!" she continued, in that chastising voice. But until the initial anger, I heard a tone of panic. Her voice was slightly higher, more pitched and I knew that I'd scared her.

"I'm a perfectly capable fighter," I defended, my back stiffened at her implication.

She scoffed, "That male preparing to tear you apart tells otherwise."

"He caught me by surprise," My voice had a slightly whiny tone and I hated it, "My powers usually tell me what's going to happen before it does."

She growled, "And in that lays your weakness. You are far too reliant on your ability, and as soon as you don't have it, you're as vulnerable as a newborn."

"I am not!" I cried indignantly, "I handled that female fine -"

"When you could see her attacks before she made them. As soon as I came within whatever distance you lost that advantage and the male overpowered you with ease."

I glared at her, "then teach me!"

Milky grey eyes widened in surprise as she was caught by it, "What?"

"Teach me," I repeated, "you said so yourself I am no fighter without my ability, but who else could teach me but the person who blocks my power?"

A step back was the first move she'd made since turning around. Her face turning from me was the second.

"Bella, we have nothing to do with your sire. I swear, Bella, I swear on everything that I am, that I had no knowledge of what Aro did to you."

A low growling could be heard, but still she didn't look at me.

"The portrait speaks otherwise,"

Her tone was still angered, her words disbelieving, but she hadn't left.

She was still standing in front of me with a scowl on her face and a slightly defensive posture.

But she was still standing there.

"Yes, near the beginning of Carlisle's life he did join them, but after a century he left, and quested to find someone to accompany him. He didn't know what Aro had done to you. _I_ didn't know."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and I stepped forwards, "_please,_" I pleaded desperately, "Bella, you have to believe me. You are my mate, my love and I could never do something, or be a part of something that hurts you so. I didn't know, but now that I do every sense, every instinct is screaming at me to tear Aro apart. To find him and kill him, slowly and without mercy for what he has put you through."

Her eyes had drifted closed as I spoke, but as soon as I mentioned finding Aro to kill him they snapped open and focussed on me, wide in panic.

"No! You must never go to him, Alice. _Never._ For I do not know what he would do to you should he learn of you knowledge of me. I cannot lose you to him."

I allowed myself a small smile at her words, her protective and slightly possessive words that told me so much more than what was said.

She cared for me too much to risk losing me. Cared too much to allow me to go and avenge her, but also, she was too scared of Aro to allow me near him.

"I won't, Bella, but you need to know that with everything I am, I didn't know and yearn to pay back every mistreatment he has bestowed upon you.

"You are my mate, Bella, and I love you. Please, I _love _you."

Her curious cloudy white eyes were focussed on me. Focussed and yet not.

The pain, the anguish I knew she felt was reflecting in her eyes and I yearned to touch her. To embrace her as I had not done for two months.

But I did not move; do not breathe as I waited for her to speak.

Her larynx bobbed as she swallowed and her eyes shifted away from mine.

"Alice," she breathed and I closed my eyes to hide from the anguish, the heartbreaking pain her voice caused me.

"Alice." She repeated, "look at me."

I could not but obey as I met her gaze.

She stepped closer and closer still.

Her steps continued until she was but an inch from me.

The fabric of her shirt brushing against my own in the wind.

"Alice," she breathed, whispered into the air between us.

A jolt of electricity stung my skin as a finger caressed the skin of my neck.

Another jolt tingled at my cheek as her thumb stroked there.

"_Alice,_"

A touch of skin on my lips.

A small, light and almost teasingly brush of skin and air against them.

"Alice."

My eyes slid closed as the contact increased.

"_Alice._"

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**Right, bah, don't like this chapter much at all... but yeah tell me what you think and be sure to mention (if you went back and re-read the other chapters) any faults I may have.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Right, chapter seventeen. In Bella's POV, just so no one gets confused.  
Ya'll know the drill, read and review because my mojo needs to know if I'm doing this right :P **

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

"I so do love how you say my name," she purred, her smooth, velvety lips brushing against mine as we both refused to separate any further.

"Mmm, _Alice,_" I purred, adding emphasise and stretching the 'ce' of her name so it came out like a hiss of a snake.

She giggled, her breath brushing against my lips in a sensual way and I closed my eyes, enjoying the closeness.

A closeness I had avoided for months because I feared she had lied to me.

Feared she'd been in league with the man I hated with all that I am.

The man I feared with all that I am.

Eventually small hands were placed, oh so carefully and lightly, upon my waist.

I was not so hesitant in my responding gestures as I curved my hand around her neck and slid one hand down to grip her waist, pulling her closer to me.

A low purring began in my chest and I nuzzled her neck, kissing the spot I'd smashed my fist into.

She snuggled and wriggled closer, as though she wanted our bodies to merge, and become one.

"Oh, Bella I missed you so." She whispered, unwilling to break the silence and peace of the moment, with the words she so desperately needed to say, questions she yearned to ask.

I pressed my forehead to hers and held it there.

Stroking her neck and shoulder with my fingertips, I circled the area I'd struck, with such brutality, such anger. I tenderly ran my fingertips across it, soothing away the pain I'd caused her.

"I'm sorry, Alice, so, so sorry."

She shifted, moving from rubbing her forehead against mine, to running her cheek against mine.

She placed a soft kiss to the bottom of my jaw and pulled back.

"Bella, it's fine. I know now you didn't attack me, didn't hit me with your full strength, so really all you were doing was ensuring I was detained long enough for you to escape."

I shook my head and let go of her, the building shame felt as though it were beginning to choke me.

"But, I still... _hurt_ you. I deliberately attacked you, so how can you forgive me that? I _attacked_ you. I harmed you, my mate. The one I'm supposed to protect."

Taking a step away, I looked away from her. Unable to meet her searching eyes.

"Bella, please. Self-preservation is an instinct that is above any other. The instinct to protect your mate, to hunt and feed, to lay territorial claim has _nothing_ on the instinct for self-preservation. It is an instinct I understand and I can forgive you it, because you believed yourself in danger."

A denying growl rose in my throat as I fought her, "But I should have known you, my mate, wouldn't have... wouldn't have betrayed me."

She stepped forwards and gently clasped my chin, urging me to face her again.

She held my gaze.

Held it until I understood the seriousness of her words she spoke oh so gently.

"I forgive you that, Bella. I forgive you for defending yourself by attacking me. I forgive it and please, do not wallow. Do not wallow in self-pity and self-loathing."

Her words were spoken with such force, such passion I could not ignore them. But nor could I obey them completely.

How could she forgive me for hurting her so? How could she give me forgiveness after the damage I had dealt to her family, and to her home?

I closed my eyes, shamed by my actions.

The gentle stroking of fingertips against my cheek forced me to open my eyes. Alice gave me a sweet, sad smile.

"Bella, please." She requested quietly and I swallowed down my guilt.

"I don't understand how you can forgive me. I..." I trailed off and Alice watched me patiently.

"I can forgive you because I love you."

"So you would forgive me anything?" I challenged and her patient expression did not shift.

"Perhaps not, but I can forgive you this. You did not offend us by lashing out in what you could only have interpreted as self-defence."

"But had I trusted you more -" I argued and she cut me off.

"Bella, you have been alone for thousands of years. You have only recently begun to experiment with the idea of trusting another. Trust is not something that comes easily to you, and so I can completely understand your actions that day. I understand them, and I forgive you for it."

I barked a laugh as a realisation struck me, "A strange circumstance this is that you are the one defending me, from myself."

She smiled, "I will always defend and protect you, Bella. Even from yourself."

I pressed my forehead to hers, sighing.

...

"Your eyes," Alice started after some time had passed and I waited for her to finish. "They are so white; I've not seen them this shade before."

I nodded, "It is due to my not feeding for such an extended period of time with my shield in full effect."

She stroked my cheek, "Had you not told me when they become white, that you lose your abilities, vampire strength and speed as well?"

I nodded, "Yes that is true, but my eyes are not pure white. There is still a difference between my iris and the whites of my eye, no?"

She nodded.

"It is only when the irises fade completely that I lose my vampiric abilities. I imagine they are a cloudy, milky white? Then it will not be long before I begin losing my strength. This is the lowest my 'energy stores' have gotten for some time and it is rather disconcerting."

"Hunt with me?" Alice asked shyly, and I sighed.

"Alice," I began but she cut me off.

"No, Bella. I won't have you hunting a human when I am with you." She commanded and her tone brought a growl up in me.

"You are not my keeper, Alice. You do not dictate my actions or decisions. I am a vampire, and I drink from humans. It is only natural and if you..." I sighed, "I do not wish for us to argue, Alice. But I... I have lived for 3000 years, under my own rule. I will not drink so much that your family will know I am a human feeder."

It was the best I could do as I was unwilling to bend to her demands. I am a vampire and I see no reason to fight my nature.

Humans eat animals, vampire eat humans. It is the way of the world.

I heard Alice's teeth grind but she did not argue so I moved to release her.

When her hold was resistant to my withdrawal I looked to her in confusion.

"Promise me you will return. I cannot hunt with you. Nor watch you hunt."

Understanding choked me and I nodded, kissed her cheek in promise and ran off.

...

It did not take long to find any prey and the disposal of the body was easy enough. I simply tore the human apart and scattered his limbs on my return to Alice.

Alice had not moved from where I had left her, and she looked up at the sound of my return.

She asked nothing about my hunt and simply reached for my hand.

We did not speak for some time. Both of us simply enjoying being together after being separated.

Eventually though, Alice broke the silence.

"That man, Bella, is Aro Volturi. He is an ancient; Carlisle believed, before he met you, that he had been around for more than 3000 years. When he was about a hundred or so, he founded the Volturi, and once his coven was powerful enough, he overthrew the Romanians. He rules the Volturi, alongside his brothers, who are a coven of vampires who govern us. They enforce our one law, to remain secret from humanity, and are the closest our kind has to a royal family. They are the guardians of the vampire world. "

I nodded, absorbing this information.

Alice gave a long pause and I knew whatever she was about to say was of great importance.

"I... I know what he did to you, Bella. I know that before he changed you..." She appeared unable to continue. Whether that be because she couldn't verbalise what he had done, or because she was responding to the tension that had crept about my body.

I had frozen, all my muscles locking up in fright.

Alice knew. She _knew_ what Aro had done to me.

How, I did not know, but she did.

Panic seized me and I jerked my hand away.

Alice stepped forwards as I stepped backwards, "Please, Bella. Don't run away from me."

Her plea stopped me, and I painfully met her eyes.

Anxious, I fidgeted with my hands and looked away, unable to handle the pity.

"Bella, what he did... was monstrous, but I... I don't think any differently of you. You are still my Bella, and I love you." She stepped closer, stroking my cheek affectionately, coercing me to meet her gaze again.

I did so reluctantly, squeezing my eyes shut when I saw the raw emotion swirling in hers.

A low whine broke out from my throat and Alice responded by hugging me tightly.

My shoulders began trembling as memories flashed behind my closed eyelids.

_The rain was pouring down. The coldness of my skin caused goose bumps to form over the exposed areas. Thunder clapped in the background and lightning flashed ominously._

_I fumbled with my basket. The mud squelched beneath my feet and I slipped. Stumbling to regain my balance I lurched forwards._

_The basket slipped from my cold and numb fingers._

_Grumbling under my breath I bent down to collect the scattered fruits and place them back in the basket._

_Standing once again I managed to make a few more stepped before a man stepped in front of me. I didn't recognise him. I didn't know him because I certainly would have remembered seeing a man so handsome. So beautiful with his pale white skin, that nearly glowed in the bright light provided by a flash of lightning. His defined cheekbones and sharp jaw line were perfectly structured. _

_He did not speak as he watched me and I swallowed nervously. Something about this stranger made me want to run. It was such an instinctual thing I failed to understand where the fear stemmed from._

_But where could I run too? He was blocking my path home, and the markets were closed by now._

_It was late, the moon had already reached its maximum height and my parents would begin worrying if I were any longer._

_I would never have thought a man beautiful, but I did not know another word to describe him. He _was_ beauty reincarnated._

_Although I could not see his eyes, I _felt_ them sweep over my figure._

_Lightning cracked again and the brief flash of light allowed me to see where his eyes were directed. But more than that, I was able to see his eyes were red._

_Crimson red._

_Panic seized my heart, stopped it momentarily before it rocketed. Pounding away, pushing the suddenly released adrenaline round to my suddenly oxygen deprived muscles._

_I feared for my life and beyond all sensible reason, I knew I was to die._

"Bella!"

My eyes jerked open as Alice's cry brought me back from my memories.

"Are you okay?" She asked and I swallowed before shaking my head.

There was no point in attempting to lie as the trembles in my hands would have betrayed my words.

I doubted she had ever seen a vampire tremble.

It was an uncommon sight and was proof of how terrified I was of _him._

Aro Volturi.

"Bella, sweetheart, you are safe. He cannot touch you here." She soothed, stroking my arm tenderly.

I could speak no words and Alice expected none.

After the trembling had ceased Alice slid her hand down and wrapped her fingers around mine.

"Come, let's go home." Alice announced, tugging on my resistant hand.

"Are you sure...?" I did not finish but Alice understood.

"Bella, they will not blame you any more than I. But, perhaps, Esme will demand some help in repairing the impressive amount of damage you did."

I cringed at that and Alice smiled sweetly.

"It was a joke, Bella. Esme has most likely cleaned everything already. It has been two months after all."

I cringed deeper and guilt rose up.

The thought of making Esme clean up the mess I had made, while hurting her family, had the guilt nearly causing a churning in my stomach. Of course, such a churning was impossible but still.

"Come." Alice persisted and as I had no reasonable argument not to, I reluctantly followed.

She set a leisurely pace and I followed grateful for it. Although, it was possible she was running at her full capable speed.

It was difficult to tell.

But still, I felt no urgency to return home, and the longer it took to return, the better.

...

Eventually the surroundings changed into the familiar green of the Olympic National Park and I slowed, tugging on Alice's hand to make her slow too.

"I cannot do this," I whispered and Alice gave me a disbelieving look.

"You're 3000 years old. You have killed more vampires than I'd ever have believed. And you're afraid of what, Bella?"

"That they won't forgive me." I answered and Alice closed her eyes.

"Believe me, Bella, they will. You'll just have to trust me on this. But if it makes you more comfortable, shield from them and I'll return 'alone'."

I nodded; still not pleased I had to return regardless, this at least gave the family a chance to greet Alice whole heartedly. Without my presence interrupting that.

...

Alice ran ahead of me, bounding into the field heading for the house.

Rosalie and Emmett had seen her approach, as they'd been standing on the porch as we broke through the tree line.

"Alice!" Emmett hollered and rushed forwards, scooping the small vampire up in his arms and spinning her. She almost disappeared in his grasp, he was so large.

Rosalie displayed a rare moment of uninhibited affection for another other than Emmett by grabbing Alice in a fierce hug.

Edward, Carlisle and Esme had rushed out at Emmett's loud yell and Esme squealed with delight, crying, "Oh, Alice you are home!"

Carlisle smiled widely and grasped her shoulder affectionately and Edward gave her a brief hug.

It was a reunion that happened in the blink of a human's eye. Fast and to the point.

"I can't read your..." Edward trailed off and smiled widely; scanning the area Alice had entered from, "You found Bella?"

Alice nodded from within Esme's embrace, her arms wrapped around her daughter possessively.

I briefly worried if I would get her back, but her next words had Esme releasing her and scanning the field.

"Yes, I did but she's very... wary of your reactions to her. She hasn't forgiven herself for her attack on us, and can't seem to understand how we could forgive her so easily."

Carlisle looked up, studying his backyard.

He stepped forwards, separating himself from his family.

"Bella, I assume you can hear me. My family and I begrudge you not, you are forgiven for your behaviour and I ask of you to reveal yourself so that we may welcome you home."

Alice looked to me, pleading with her eyes for me to lower my shield from the others.

Swallowing, I brought forth my courage and dropped my influence on their senses, allowing me to be seen by all.

I bowed my head in submission, allowing them the opportunity to punish me as they saw fit.

I heard the soft exclamations of shock, and listened as Esme charged forwards.

Bracing myself for her attack, I was taken by immense surprise when she simply threw her arms around me and enveloped me in a passionate embrace.

"Oh, Bella." She cried softly, hugging me tightly.

Unsure on how to react to her actions, I awkwardly placed my hand on her back.

"I'm so glad you've returned." I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

The others held their distance, Esme being the only one to hug me.

Rosalie and Emmett stood together nodding to me when I looked at them. Carlisle took Esme's hand when she eventually released me and gave me a grim smile.

Alice wrapped her arm around my waist and I looked at Edward, whose eyes darted up to meet my briefly before boring into the ground again.

The reunion was awkward and the silence stretched as no one could really think of anything else to say.

"I truly am so very sorry for attacking you all," I apologised again, "I should have... trusted you more."

Carlisle stepped towards me and grasped my shoulder in a firm grip, "Bella, it is fine. You are forgiven so do not continue to dwell on it."

I nodded and they broke away, each couple moving off to continue whatever they had been doing before our arrival.

...

I lay on Alice's bed with her head resting on my shoulder, one arm draped over my stomach.

Hours had passed with little speaking between us.

I was content just being with her, content to just feel her body pressed against mine.

"Teach me," she whispered into my ear and I turned to her, surprised.

She smirked and pushed away some loose strands of hair, tucking them behind my ear, "Teach me to fight."

I smiled; pleased she had been serious about that.

Although it was a rather abrupt change in topic and pace, since a silence had fallen between us for some time, I was excited to get active.

While I couldn't feel lethargic or anything humans do when inactive for hours, I enjoyed being mobile. And the sight of Alice being overpowered so easily bothered me immensely.

She was a capable fighter, not a newborn by any means, but she lacked the skill to defeat an opponent without her ability.

I was very anxious to teach her, I wanted to feel confident that should we be in such a situation, that I could not defend her and she were forced to fight herself, that she would be able to handle herself.

And while I had never taught anyone to fight, I wanted her to learn.

And there was no better fighter, that I had meet, who would be better than I.

Standing I took her hand into my own and led her outside without saying a word.

We faced each other, standing a decent distance apart.

I studied her, the way she held herself.

"You rely too much on your ability to predict the future. Without this ability," I began and sprung forwards, lunging out to grab her throat, gripping it firmly, but not so I would hurt her. Her eyes widened in fright, caught by surprise at my sudden attack, "You are easily caught by surprise." I finished and ran my fingers down her neck tenderly.

Leaping back, I faced her again, "You need to learn to read your opponent. Look for the attack in the shifting and movement of their muscles." I lunged forwards again, swiping at her.

This time she nimbly ducked, and spun away from me.

Her movements were agile and very graceful.

"Good," I complimented her, "But you need to be completely focussed." I lashed out, my arm swinging in a backhand. She ducked again, but I anticipated her spin, grabbing her neck securely once again, "Do not repeat a manoeuvre, it makes you predictable and easily read."

Releasing her I stepped back again, allowing her some seconds to absorb my lesson.

"You are agile and small. Use that. Your size will make it difficult to get a secure purchase on you, and your agile nature means you can manoeuvre yourself around your opponent, making it possible to take hold of their neck or limbs from behind."

She nodded her understanding and I lunged, feinting to the left, only to change direction just as my foot had left the ground. It lifted half an inch before I placed my toes to the ground and pushed off. She had read my movement well, but missed that slight adjustment in the positioning of my right foot. So she missed the subtle change in weight from my right foot to my left.

This resulted in her 'dodging' straight into my right uppercut. Pulling the punch so I wouldn't do any damage, I followed the blow through with a shoulder barge into her midsection.

She hit the ground roughly, digging up the earth and flipping over backwards.

Her fingers dug into the ground, increasing the friction so she didn't slide as far. I watched the muscles tense in her forearms and deltoids and in her left calf muscle as she prepared to take off from the ground to tackle me about the waist.

Stepping swiftly to the side I narrowly avoided the well structured attack, and drove the base of my palm into her back, in between her shoulder blades. She lost her balance and pitched forwards into a face plant.

Grabbing the shirt, I prevented her from hitting the ground and pulled her up; smoothly enough so that no damage was done to the shirt.

Putting her back on her feet I smiled, "That was an intelligent move, and if I were not so fast, I would not have been able to avoid it. Any other opponent would have been caught by surprise as there had been enough force applied into that shoulder barge, you should have travelled further."

Her smile was grim and I frowned, "You are doing well, Alice. Why do you..." I failed to finish the sentence as I didn't have the correct word to describe her expression.

She sighed, bowing her head slightly, "I'm not... accustomed to being so easily defeated. Usually I am the one pulling the insanely quick dodges and counter attacks. Guess I can really empathize with my siblings now."

I kissed her cheek chastely, "If you continue to learn this quickly, I imagine you will eventually become skilled enough to challenge me."

She rolled her eyes in disbelieve, "Yeah, in a few millenniums."

I laughed heartily, and she poked me in the ribs.

"You weren't meant to laugh at that."

"What was I meant to do? I will not patronise you and what you said was true enough."

She huffed, unable to argue that logic.

I backed up and she crouched low.

"Not every opponent will give you a warning of an approaching attack with an offensive stance. Like that female, they may just attack. Without sound, without warning. This is why, even if you are already fighting an opponent, you need to be completely aware of your surroundings." I darted forwards and just as I was within striking range, I leapt up, performed a perfect aerial and landed behind her.

Striking with a closed fist I targeted her right ribs.

I was pleasantly surprised when I missed, due to her army roll forwards. Once on her feet she spun and blocked my second strike. When she retaliated with a jab into my sternum I slapped the skin of her wrist, deflecting the blow and knocking her off balance.

Enough so, that with two steps and a slight torso twist I managed to grab her in a choke hold.

"Why didn't you tell me you were having a sparring session?" A voice echoed out towards us and we both looked up to see Emmett bounding out onto the field where we stood.

I looked past him to see Rosalie standing on the porch, eyeing the scene with a blank expression.

I released Alice from my hold, and she ducked out of it and leaned her back into my chest. I encircled her with my arms and kissed her cheek.

Emmett approached, with a wide grin stretching his lips far apart, "I've been waiting for a decent fight for some time. I didn't get the opportunity to spar with Jasper, since we were pretending to be human, and Edward cheats. So what do ya say, Bells? Fight with me?"

I looked to Alice and she grinned in excitement, nodding enthusiastically.

"I'm tired of being beaten silly. Go show Emmett how a real vampire fights."

I gave her a quick peck on the lips and released her entirely.

Watching as she danced away to stand beside her sister before I turned to face Emmett, who stood in a confident stance, arms crossed over his chest and his chin tipped up in a show of arrogance.

I crouched slightly, prepared to battle.

It was obvious Emmett didn't think I was much of a threat when he was prepared for my attacks; so I decided it was time for him to learn a lesson.

His audacious attitude was insulting and he needed to learn some manners - in a way his testosterone driven male brain would understand completely.

Charging forwards I pulled back my fist and punched, aiming for his chest.

He grabbed my fist in his huge hand, stopping my punch with an echoing crack of thunder.

_Hmm,_ I had underestimated the large vampire's strength. He had been so easily defeated the previous two encounters that I'd never experienced the raw brute power he held.

Grinning triumphantly, he looked down at me, still grasping my fist tightly, applying some pressure to it to demonstrate he still had more strength to apply.

Twisting and sharply pulling my hand away, I broke free of his grip and swung in with my left hand. He blocked with his left, the impact ringing out a second crack.

He had speed, strength and good reflexes.

But I had millenniums of experience on him, and while it was apparent he was a fighter, that he had skill and some impressive brute strength to boot, he had nothing on me.

I pushed his arm aside, leaving his chest wide open and drove an open palm into it.

His air was forced from his lungs with an audible 'oof' and his body was flung backwards.

He tumbled and spun, skidding along the grass for some metres before managing to stabilise his forced retreat.

His eyes widened in surprise momentarily before narrowing and that wide grin reappeared. He charged towards me, building up speed and leapt up, flying towards me.

Deciding to demonstrate the kind of strength I possessed, I ducked down, making it seem to him as though I were only going to dodge his attack. When he was a suitable distance from me, I straightened up suddenly and thrust my arm out, catching him around his neck.

He halted, barely jarring me with the impressive amount of momentum he had had. His eyes widened in fright, as realisation dawned on him.

He was taller than me, so I couldn't really hold his feet off the ground effectively, so I turned and pummelled him into the ground, fingers squeezing and crushing his windpipe.

I squeezed until I felt his skin beginning to give before declaring him 'dead'.

Releasing him swiftly I bounced away and waited for him to stand.

He did, rubbing his neck with one hand and eyeing me cautiously.

"You're quite a fighter, Bella. I underestimated you."

I tipped my head towards him, waiting for him to begin his assault again.

He rushed forwards again, but instead of leaping at me head on, he showed some intelligence and circled me.

With each circle he came closer, until eventually we were within striking distance of each other.

He swiped and kicked, attempting to hit me as I ducked, dodged and weaved around.

"Alice, this is how you should handle a larger opponent. With your agility," I ducked and stepped around Emmett, "You can manoeuvre your opponent in any direction," Emmett drove an elbow towards me and I leant back to avoid it, twisting my torso to push him away. "You can use their own weight and momentum against them," Emmett lunged forwards again, and again I weaved away. His back was turned to me and I kicked it, forcing him to stumble. "It doesn't take much strength to get an opponent off balance in this way, and once they have stumbled," I leapt forwards and jumped on his back, grabbing his head in my hands, wrapping my legs around his waist, "It is easy enough to dispatch of them."

"You're giving my sister fighting lessons when you're fighting me? Oh, that's just insulting." Emmett grumbled and I hopped off his back, laughing slightly.

"Yes, well, the best lessons learnt are visually seen or applied practically. And you didn't honestly believe you could stand a chance against me, did you?" His pouting expression told me he had. I laughed softly at it, "Emmett, I am 3000 years old. Not only does my strength and speed vastly outmatch your own, I have that many years fighting experience on you."

His pout deepened and I laughed again.

I looked over to see Alice grinning at me, "It's about time Emmett was taken down a peg. He's constantly bragging about his superior strength."

Even Rosalie was amused by my defeating Emmett as she gave me a slight smirk, her golden eyes twinkling in the soft light.

Emmett huffed and I heard him bound forwards, his heavy footstep nearly echoing to my sensitive ears as he charged, hoping to catch me off guard.

My shield was raised without much thought and I ducked, avoiding his sweeping arms that would have caught me in a tackle.

"Huh?" He exclaimed in shock, noticing my disappearing act.

I grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, kicked the back of his knee so he collapsed forwards and grabbed a firm hold on his neck, squeezing so he felt the pressure of my grip.

He grunted and I lowered my shield, "_Do_ _not_ think to try that again, Emmett. There is no respect in attacking your opponent whilst their back is turned. You are lucky I am merciful and like Rosalie enough that I'd not want to leave her without a mate."

My voice was low and cold and I felt Emmett's larynx push against my hand as he attempted to swallow.

"Understood?" I hissed and he jerked his head, the only affirmation he could give since I was crushing his windpipe.

Releasing him I stepped away and turned my head, urging myself to calm.

Emmett's attack, as friendly or flippant as it may have been, had brought forth some of my more deadly instincts. His attacking whilst my back was turned had triggered an old reflex.

The reflex to kill.

I had been truthful when I said it had only been my fondness for Rosalie and my remembrance of Alice that I had not killed him where he stood.

I listened as Rosalie and Alice rushed onto the scene.

Anticipating Rosalie's chastisement of my threat to dismember her mate, I turned. Only to see her smack Emmett over the back of his head and growl at him.

"Emmett, you fool. What stupidity you showed in attacking Bella? You are damn lucky she didn't simply kill you were you stood."

Alice noticed my surprise and took my hand, attracting my attention.

"She knows as well as I do what your history is, Bella." Was all she said and my eyes widened in panic.

My head snapped up and the look on Rosalie's face confirmed Alice's statement.

She knew.

Panicking I raised my shield and made to run. It was a reflex.

A reaction born from thousands of years of running and the only thing that kept my feet on the spot was Alice's death grip on my hand.

Even though I had vanished from her senses, she still clasped my hand with as much strength as she possessed.

"_Bella!"_ She hissed, in a panicked scold.

I whined a noise from the back of my throat and she pulled on my hand.

Becoming visible to her I hissed, "You told her?"

"No! I would never, Bella. Rosalie was the one to tell me."

I looked back at Rosalie, not understanding how that was possible.

Calming enough to lower my shield entirely, Rosalie looked to me, "I think we need to talk."

I watched her, "Yes, I believe we do."


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, firstly, I apologise for the lateness, and how delayed this update was. I am still alive, and I'm also so busy with something we call life, that... yeah... excuses excuses. Point is, I'm sorry and here's chapter Eighteen! yay.**

**Also, big thanks to Avarenda for looking over this chapter for me :P, you rock!**

**And another thing, just because SO many people thought they'd correct me. Girls do have Adam's apples. Seriously, Google it. That is what google is for, so if you doubt one of my facts (not grammatical or spelling related because I am only human, and Word Processor doesn't know everything English related) google it first before you think to correct me. The adam's apple is the larger part of cartilage protecting the thyroid and voicebox. Since we all talk, and all have thyroids (except me because I had that one removed xP) we all, boys and girls, have an adam's apple. It just happens to be more prominent in males... **

**Aside from that, I love that you have reviewed. Reviews make my day and make me know people are reading this little fic, and that they are (usually, and I hope) enjoying it. And everyone likes knowing their stuff is enjoyed. So... without further ado, read on and review!**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

Rosalie knew.

She _knew._

Her eyes, usually so cold and disdainful, watched me. That slight glint of sympathy, something so rare it could well have been an anomaly, had sealed and confirmed my suspicion.

She didn't just know about Aro changing me. She knew he had... that he had over-powered me.

How though? How could Rosalie, someone I had not exchanged more than a handful of sentences with, know something so personal about me? I am a private person. I do not share, nor do I reveal things about myself.

At least, not often. Jasper and Alice were the only exceptions.

And even then I had not told them.

And yet this near-stranger, Rosalie Hale, knew.

The knowledge irked me. She knew and yet I could not comprehend how that was possible.

There was more to Rosalie than her apparent vanity and obstinacy.

Alice gripped my hand furiously, still scared I would run as I studied Rosalie.

Her mannerisms did not match with the person I had already deemed her to be. All I had seen thus far of the beautiful blonde was her affronting coldness and resistance to my inclusion to the family.

She had always held herself separate from the 'family' - as the Cullen's preferred to refer to their coven. When Alice had first introduced me to her adoptive mother and siblings, Rosalie had stood apart.

She had stood with Emmett and not introduced herself until I offered my hand in greeting.

As my presence in the Cullen's household increased, my association with her did not.

She had fought vehemently with Carlisle about allowing me residence and then confronted me while she repaired my vehicle.

With all the conversations I had overheard, Rosalie's past was the least visited. Least discussed.

I did not know her year of rebirth. Did not know her place of human birth.

I knew her full name, because she had not changed it, even after marrying Emmett.

I knew Carlisle had been the one to change her.

But that was it. I had minimal facts on the one vampire who had been suspicious of me from the beginning.

I had underestimated her, I now realised. As she had known I would.

Her vanity was a ruse. Or perhaps, not quite a ruse so much as an excellent cover. Rosalie wasn't blind to her beauty, and no doubt took some enjoyment in studying her perfected features. Just not to the extent that she had lead me to believe. And lead me she had.

I had fallen for her act and it had allowed the patient blonde to study me.

Rosalie met my gaze, and I could not understand exactly what message she was trying to convey. While guarded, she was also strangely vulnerable.

One subtle dipping of her head was all she gave me before turning to Emmett and quietly – I think even now they all underestimated the strength of my senses – told him he needed to stay here.

While confused by the nod I looked to Alice and realised I could not tell my story to her yet.

How Rosalie knew about my past was important and I had an instinctual desire her alone.

"Alice," I murmured and the tone of my voice told her all she needed to know. Before the next words had even left my lips, before the air had even formed in my throat, her entire demeanour changed. Her shoulders slumped and her eyebrows drew together in hurt confusion. "I need to speak with Rosalie. Alone."

Her larynx bobbed several times before she nodded. I knew she wanted to argue, to insist and demand I allow her to accompany me, but thankfully she did not.

Squeezing my hand once she released it. I kissed her cheek and stroked it affectionately.

"I will not be too long." I promised and she looked away.

"Take your time." She whispered and turned away, walking towards the house without her normal bounce.

While I felt some guilt for excluding her, I knew, subconsciously or otherwise, that this was something for just Rosalie and I.

I nodded to Rosalie and lead the way to my home. We would not get a more private location for this... whatever it was.

I did not know exactly what to expect but my intuition told me that it would not be a pleasant talk.

My house came into view eventually and I sighed at the familiar sight.

This was the first residual home I ever owned and the idea that this small, modest house could be an actual home was beginning to grow on me.

The house was as exactly as I had left it, although dust had gathered on the surfaces and the scent of the air was stale.

I moved to the lounge and sat on a couch and Rosalie sat opposite me.

Her elbows rested on her knees and she leant forwards, regarding me with a serious and sombre expression.

Her golden eyes were focussed on me. Studying me. Delicate and perfectly shaped eyebrows pushed together as I noticed how she considered her own words seriously.

"How much do you know about me, Bella?" She eventually asked in a quiet tone.

"Not much." I admitted, "You were born Rosalie Lillian Hale and have thus far kept that name, and Carlisle was the one to change you."

A slight twitch of the corner of her mouth was the only indication I had of her feelings, of smugness no doubt.

"I am surprised you know even that much."

I smirked, "It's amazing how much you can learn when the household does not know you can hear their every word."

"I'm sure." Her mouth curved into a smirk before she looked down at her intertwining fingers and her expression grew serious. "You were right; Carlisle was the one to change me. He found me and changed me in the hopes I would be a mate for Edward; who had not found a mate at that time. Carlisle wanted to share the happiness he had found in Esme by finding someone for his only son to be with." She sighed, "You can imagine how that turned out."

I laughed wryly, well aware of the sibling rivalry and bickering that occurred between the eldest of the Cullen 'children'.

"I was born in Rochester, New York in the year nineteen fifteen. It wasn't until nineteen thirty three that I was changed, and by then." She sighed again, almost wistfully, "By then I had become a beautiful young woman. I was engaged to one Royce King the Second. His father owned the bank that my father worked and so, on the second day in which Royce had begun overseeing the bank; mother had me deliver my father's lunch. I had not understood why she insisted I dress in my organza for a simple trip to the bank. Royce noticed me immediately, and pursued a courtship that very night by sending a bouquet of roses. Every night, after that, a bouquet was sent to me, and I became thoroughly charmed by him. He was handsome, rich and charismatic. Everything I had dreamed of from the time I was a young girl. Two months into our courtship he proposed and, to the delight of my parents, I accepted.

"It was a short engagement, preparations for the wedding - a wedding the entire city of Rochester knew about – were made straight away." She paused there and I could sense the tension, the awaiting horror. Her jaw was clenched and her fists tight as she stared past my shoulder.

She took a deep, calming breath before meeting my eye again.

"I was returning from my friend's home the night of my change. Vera was my one true friend. She had married young and had already started on her family. I'd been visiting her new child and hadn't called for an escort when I left. It was late, and cold. It was only a few streets from home when Royce called to me. He and his cluster of male friends were drunk." She stopped again, looking away and the tightness in her jaw returned. Studying me in return, she picked up on the tension I was echoing from her. "You can imagine what happened I'm sure, but Royce bragged to his friends about the beauty of his soon-to-be wife. One jeered at him, saying he could not tell as I was so covered up." Her voice lowered into a sharp whisper, "Royce ripped my jacket from me demanding I 'show him what I looked like.'" My hands tightened into fists and a low growl rumbled in my chest. I sensed exactly where this was going. "He dragged me into an alleyway and..." her eyes dropped to the floor, "I won't make you listen to the rest, but he and his friends left me bleeding in the street. They presumed I was dead, or at least would die soon enough.

"Carlisle found me, the amount of blood had caught his attention and he came to investigate. He rushed me to his home and changed me. Edward knew what Carlisle hoped for me and voiced his disgust at his 'father's' decision to 'save' me." She nearly spat out 'save'. Sitting back into the couch she looked away, her eyes focussing on something I could not see. "Once I was in enough control I hunted Royce and his friends down. One by one I got my revenge. Unfortunately, however, I wasn't confident enough to make them suffer, as I knew if blood was split I would be unable to resist temptation." Her eyes returned to mine suddenly, "I did not want their blood in my body. I saved Royce for last, and him, I did make suffer. The others had helped my control by that point."

She waited for some time, allowing me to absorb her tale.

Rosalie had been raped. Not just raped, but _gang_ raped by her _fiancé_.

I leant forwards and cradled my head in my hands, images of my past flashing before my eyes.

Vibrant red eyes. Cold mud pressing into me. Fabric ripping. Screams and snarls.

I stood suddenly, pacing away from Rosalie as the room became too small. The walls were closing in on me.

"Why did you tell me this?" I roared in anger and anguish. Trying to find someone to blame for the memories I could not force away.

Rosalie did not seem in the least bit fazed by my sudden anger. She stayed sitting, a clear power position. She was lower than I, in a submissive position, allowing me to hold the power in this conversation. To keep me from feeling anymore threatened.

I resented her games, but knew she was doing it to keep me calm. And it was working.

Oh, was it working.

On good conscience I was unable to attack her, as she was not my equal at this moment.

I growled and stared down at her, breathing deeply to calm myself further.

"I told you, Bella, because I needed you to understand how I figured out something similar happened to you. I recognised the signs. The way you flinch at physical touch, or avoid it when you can. You sit at your cafeteria table strategically. No one ever able to accidently brush against you. The first time Emmett hugged you; you tensed and flinched away. You reacted with an unreasonable amount of aggression when Emmett grabbed your shoulder, and again when you attacked us. Carlisle said you became enraged when you saw the portrait in his study.

"What Alice told me of your first kiss merely confirmed what I had begun to suspect. She told me you launched her through the wall after she caressed and grasped your waist." Her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed deeply, "A common area used to hold a victim still."

I hissed and turned from her, my anger returning. Along with my fear.

"I told you, Bella, so that you would understand that I have gone through exactly what you are now. Recovery wasn't easy. It was probably the most difficult thing have _ever_ done. And even though I'd found Emmett and begged Carlisle to change him for me, it wasn't an immediate miraculous recovery. I didn't kiss him and everything was perfect. It took years for me to allow Emmett to even touch me affectionately and months after that, before I wasn't flinching at even the more innocent touches." She gave me a wry smile, "I was alone for two years before I found Emmett, and then it wasn't until two and a half years Emmett kissed me. Another year before we even attempted making love. The first time I demolished, and then the door ripped from its hinges when I escaped." She looked away from me briefly, recollecting her thoughts.

I felt as though something was choking me, or I was choking on a foreign obstruction in my throat. She not only knew about my difficulties, but she understood, empathised completely. Clenching my fists tightly I huffed and sat back down in defeat. Her words had beaten back my irrational anger and her manner had defused my need for a confrontation.

Not one for showing a great deal of affection, Rosalie gently laid her hand upon mine.

I looked to her in mild surprise, wondering what else she could want.

"Would you share with me what happened to you? It may help to -"

I cut her off sharply, "No."

Her golden eyes showed no surprise and her mouth tipped in gentle understanding.

"Bella," She tried again and the inexplicable anger raged through me again. Ripping my hand away I stood up once more.

"Do not speak to me like that, Rosalie! You can't know how..." I trailed off, at a loss for words. But the words spoken angered the blonde.

She stood and glared at me menacingly, "I know perfectly well how difficult and painful it is, Bella. Or have you conveniently forgotten, not two minutes after my retelling, that I have experienced the exact same thing?"

"You got your vengeance!" I cried, throwing my hands up in the air, "You killed those men that violated you. They were mere mortals when they attacked you. Humans easily dispatched of. Aro is a vampire. A vampire _older_ than I." I growled and Rosalie's eyes narrowed further.

"You think that makes it any less difficult for me to have moved on? You think I didn't fear them? That I wasn't initially terrified of the men that had over-powered and violently raped me?" She stepped forwards, leaning down; using that inch she had on me to intimidate me. "My fear was no less than yours. The only difference between us is that I over came mine. You are still hiding like the scared little girl you truly are."

I roared in anger and moved to strike her. I actually had my hand raised when she goaded me on.

"Do it, Bella. Strike me. But it won't bring any satisfaction. You may be very powerful and strong, but around Aro you are nothing more than a weak human child.

"You let your fear of him cloud your sense. Aro is a ruler; he has his guards do his dirty work. I'd be surprised to learn if he has fought a single fight since he started his coven. You've spent your existence fighting. You've fought and won more than any other vampire I've met. No individual Volturi guard has a record that could even come close to matching yours."

It was strange how she could turn an insult into a compliment without taking a breath.

I lowered my hand and stepped away, a continuous growl rumbling in my chest. Her words irked and infuriated me. Mostly because I could see the truth in them.

My anger disintegrated away, changing, morphing rapidly, into a sadness, a pain I could not describe. My body jerked, spasmed erratically. I suddenly folded into myself.

A keening wail ripped out my throat and I fell to the floor, denting the wood with my granite hard knees.

"You're right." I weeped, pressing my clenched fists to my eyes. "You're right. I am a coward in my fear. But, Rosalie, he was so strong."

Soft, yet firm, arms wrapped around my shoulders and forearms. My fists were still pressed to my eyes and my body curled up. Rosalie held me in a slightly awkward embrace.

She did not speak, did not coo or whisper gentle, encouraging nothings into my ear. She held me, held me as I fell to pieces.

"He was terrifyingly beautiful that night." I croaked out in between my dry sobs. "His red eyes gleamed when he smirked. So beautiful and yet I was frozen in fear." I lowered my hands and pressed my face into the crook of her neck, seeking comfort and avoiding her eyes at the same time.

"He whispered in my ear, a soft, musical voice, 'My dear, I've not met another like you. I must know if you are as special as you seem.'"

Another shudder ran through me involuntary and I grabbed the flimsy material. Curling my fingers into the silk so there was no escape for her. "He forced me to the ground and I could not... could not even _dream_ of fighting. I did not know who he was, or what he wanted. God, I hadn't even known what I'd lost until it was gone. My innocence, Rosalie. He stole it from me and I shan't ever get it back!

"The pain, oh, the pain. It was beyond my wildest imagination. How could it have hurt so much? The fire!" A whining, agonising cry tore from my throat as I let loose a pain I had kept buried for so long.

She did not shush me. Did not tell me everything was fine. Because it was not. Nothing was fine.

Aro had taken from me a life and an innocence I'd not known existed until it was gone. How could he have taken something from me that I had not known existed? Reproduction and sex was not discussed until you had a husband. My mother hadn't taught me what took place behind closed doors between a man and his wife.

All I knew on that night was that the man on top of me was taking more than just my life, more than just my humanity. All I knew today was that the way Alice had touched me had been too closely related to the way he had touched me that night. Only, this time, I was strong enough to prevent a repeat of that night.

I lost track of time as Rosalie held me and I slowly regained my composure and control.

Shifting slightly, I pulled away from her arms and she allowed it, releasing me and standing up.

I swallowed as the silence grew between us. Neither of us really knew what to say.

Embarrassment began to grow as I realised I had just fallen apart in front of the coldest of the Cullens. Before I could actually turn away in shame Rosalie grabbed my shoulder firmly.

"Don't," She commanded and I frowned, "Don't feel ashamed for that, Bella."

I nodded and she gave me a small smile and squeezed slightly.

...

I stormed through the house and busted through Alice's door. Jasper was sitting on the bed, holding Alice in a tight embrace.

Rage tinted my vision and I snarled as I flew forwards and wrenched Jasper away from my mate. Tossing him into the wall I crouched and hissed a challenge.

"Bella!" Alice cried in shock and Jasper stepped off the wall, leaving an impression.

"Stay away from my mate!" I demanded, infuriated he had the nerve to have actually touched her so intimately behind my back.

"Bella!" Alice cried again, her voice reaching an octave higher than normal in her shock, "Don't talk to Jasper like that."

"He was touching you!" I retorted, keeping my eyes trained on the battle-scarred blond.

"He was comforting me." Alice stood in front of me, hands on her hips, "You were off with Rosalie talking without me and I was worried. Jasper returned, having been away searching for _you,_ and found me upset over the fact that you don't seem to trust me."

"He did not need to touch you." I defended myself, even though I was beginning to realise I had overreacted.

"Bella," Alice scolded, "Stop being a possessive jerk. You can't seem to trust me with anything."

I heard the hurt in her voice at that and my eyes darted from Jasper to my mate. Although she was still standing with her hands on her hips I saw the hurt in her golden eyes.

I whined as conflicting urges rose within me. I wanted to confront Jasper but I also wanted to comfort Alice.

Evidently the need to comfort my mate won out as I turned all of my attention to the short pixie.

"I do trust you."

She frowned and a part of my mind registered the fact that Jasper had slipped out the window.

"Then why did you refuse to allow me to come with you and Rosalie?"

I swallowed a portion of the venom that had built up in my mouth and considered my choice of words carefully. "Because, I... Rosalie and I share a common history. And although I did not know that initially, I knew however Rosalie knew of my past, that she could _empathise_ with me. She could do more than just listen and offer compassion. I needed someone who knew how it felt to have that taken from them. To know how it felt to be at the complete mercy of a man. To have that... innocence of virginity violently taken."

Alice looked incredibly hurt by my words and I whined again, hating I couldn't express myself effectively.

"I _do_ trust you, Alice. My mate. But," I hung my head as words failed me. "I trust you, but you don't know what it was like."

I listened to Alice's steady breathing, and I waited patiently for her to speak. My eyes remained focussed on the floor and it felt like my stomach, an organ that had been inactive for nearly three millenniums, was trying to sink to the floor as well.

"You are right, Bella, I don't know what it is like. But that doesn't mean I am not willing to listen, to try and assist in your healing."

I finally lifted my eyes to see Alice staring at me intensely, as though trying to force her words and her compassion through her look. I placed one hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently before slipping it down her arm and clasping her hand.

"But you are helping. Simply being here for me and being patient helps me more than you'll ever know."

She swallowed and moved slowly, stepping forwards to hold me without triggering my instincts. I wrapped my arms around her slim, petite frame and inhaled. Sniffing the top of her head, where the scent of her shampoo comforted me.

Rosalie was so patient and kind with me, and after I regained control of myself we spoke some more. She described part of her recovery with Emmett, how his own patience and kindness was the biggest factor in her steps towards trusting him.

The largest concern I had was that I wouldn't be able to trust Alice soon enough. I was afraid she would eventually lose interest. There were only so many times I could reject her touch before she gave up and moved on.

I gripped the back of her head, pressing her too me more firmly. "I'm scared, Alice, that your patience will run out." I admitted in a quiet whisper, being sure to keep her mind shielded, and raising my shield so the others would not hear me. "I'm scared that I will push you away one too many times and you will walk away."

Petite arms squeezed me and she exhaled in slight shock, "Oh, Bella, I would never. Take as long as you want, and I will never pressure you."

I nodded, desperately wanting to believe her. And while I did, I couldn't help the small insecurities that eventually she would leave.

Eventually I wandered downstairs to apologise to Jasper. Alice had been rather serious in her thoughts that I was overreacting and needed to apologise.

I could see her point, and was ashamed to admit she was right, but I couldn't help that part of me that was possessive. Alice was mine, and no one else's. To touch, hold or otherwise.

Sighing I realised he had not returned, and I turned to see Edward watching me intently.

His mannerism reminded me of something I had overheard but not had an opportunity to actually discuss with him.

"You believe you are soulless, Edward?" I asked bluntly and his eyes widened before narrowing.

"I'm not sure how you know that, but yes vampires have no soul." He answered, his tone suggesting no argument.

His arms crossed in petulance and he raised his chin in defiant arrogance.

I took a deep breath before launching into my contradiction of his thoughts.

"You see yourself as a monster because your identity is wrapped up with what it is to be human. You still think like a human. But, Edward, you are not human. You are a vampire.

"Some humans believe they evolved from primates', and yet they do not associate and live with these animals. You are but an evolved human, and yet you still live amongst them.

"You are no more human than a human is an animal. It is not cannibalism, it is not murder anymore than it is for humans to kill and eat animals.

"You have no soul? Who deems that to be truth, but humans? Of course the prey would think that. I imagine animals, like cows, sheep and fish would consider humans to be soulless monsters. But they cannot communicate with their food, so no questions of morality are raised.

"You remember your human life, so you brought a humans mentality through to this one. You have constant contact and association with your natural prey, so your mentality and thoughts have not changed.

"We are vampires. They are humans. We are two entirely different species. True, vampires came from humans, we are able to... mate with them, but that does not mean we should, that _I _should agree with the human's, our _food's_, thoughts and feelings on vampirism.

"And you believe you have no soul? Then tell me, Edward, where do your emotions spring from, if not from the soul? It could well be from a bodily change, a neurological response to a bodily change. But vampires are forever unchanging, and since we no longer experience physical changes, then we are stuck in one emotional climate, no? You were changed with no knowledge of me, so how could you have been trapped in an emotional state of love, for me?"

Edward used my pause to argue back, "That is true, but Carlisle believes we are capable of one major change. When Carlisle met Esme and fell in love, he experienced that change. As did Rosalie with Emmett."

I waited for him to say anything else and when he did not, I replied, "But why would we only change the once? If we are physically incapable of change, what is it about 'love' that causes us to experience something that is deemed impossible?

"Emotions are commonly believed, by human scientists, to be a reaction to a bodily change. William James believes an emotion is the perception of a bodily change as they occur. Humans feel sad because they cry, angry because they strike, afraid because they tremble. They do not cry, strike, nor tremble because they are sorry, angry, or fearful.

"You stand there and claim to love me. But if you are unable to experience a bodily change. Incapable of experiencing the release of chemicals your body no longer requires or can even produce. Then how can you justify that you are, in fact, in love with me?

"That is not even taking into account religious theoretical views on love. According to religion, love is an emotion directly attached and associated with the soul. It is the result of recognition of the beauty of God in another's soul.

"Your mentioning of souls means you are a religious man, correct?" I paused to give him a chance to disagree, and when he did not I continued. "Then how can you claim to love - claim to see the beauty of God in my soul, if I do not have a soul? If you don't have a soul because you are a vampire, then I must not have one either. And if you do not have a soul to recognise my own, then how can you love me?"

I finished my speech and watched my words race about Edward's mind. His jaw continuously clenched and relaxed, his larynx bobbed and his brow furrowed deeper with each one.

Words escaped him and his eyes began darting about.

I had never seen him so... frazzled. His entire composure was broken and had he been able to sweat, I imagine his forehead would have been glistening.

He glared at me for sometime before storming off, slamming the door behind him.

...

"Edward's rather cantankerous thanks to you," Alice remarked light heartedly as she sat beside me on the bed.

It had been a few hours since my 'debate' with Edward and he still had not returned, so I knew her words were based on fact.

However, I decided to tease her by closing my book, placing it on the bedside table and turning to her.

"And why is that?"

She gave me a half smirk, the left hand corner of her mouth curving up adorably, "You completely displaced his belief that we are soulless monsters doomed for eternity. He was very set on that idea and was prepared to wallow in self-pity for the rest of eternity."

I brushed away a loose strand of her short hair, "Hmm, well all I did was argue logic with logic."

She grinned and sat on my lap, snuggling into me, "Yes, but you should understand just how much Edward had set on having no soul."

"Yes, well. He cannot have it both ways. He can't _not_ have a soul and 'love' me too."

Alice snuggled into my neck, inhaling my scent, "Why not?"

I smiled, "Because to believe in a soul makes him a religious man. Souls are not something of science, regardless of all scientific attempts to study them. Religion speaks of souls as the root of emotion. To love another human, is believed to be a human's recognition of the presence of God, or love of God, in another's soul."

"Yes, but if we are not human, are we capable of having a soul?"

I shrugged, "We were all once human. But why would we have lost our souls simply because we were infected with venom? Why would the venom, something that burnt through our physical makeup, affect our soul? Something that is beyond the physical realm?

"And all of this is only assuming that souls exist to begin with. I myself am not a God-fearing person."

Alice pulled away and looked at me, "So do you not love me?"

Her tone was light, but I could sense the underlying insecurity that I did not care for her as much as she did for me.

Stroking her spine with my thumb, I kissed her nose.

"I use the term 'love' because it is something you can identify with. I use it as an expression of the... recognition I have in seeing you as a fitter mate than any other. It is a word I use to describe the incredible, indescribable sensations and emotions, really, you bring forth in me. Humans are capable of change, they are capable of emotions, and since it is so commonly believed we are not changing, and therefore unable to experience emotions, I use love to verbalise how much I desire your company. Humans have not provided me with a suitable enough word to describe what it is you do to me, and so I shall settle for love. Because love is something you understand well enough."

Her eyes softened and began to smoulder.

Emotions and souls was a difficult topic for me because it was impossible to be completely sure of who was right. Are human scientists correct? That emotions are reactions to bodily changes? Or do religious philosophers have the right of it? When they believe emotions are tied to the soul?

"If vampires do not have a soul, does that mean animals do not? And do animals not have a soul simply because they behave in ways beyond the comprehension of humans? Humans are notorious for destroying what they cannot understand. And what they do not understand, they immediately feel threatened by. And when threatened, any animal will lash out. The human side of us, a part every vampire has, is lashing out. The human side is threatened by this more dominant, more powerful being. The venom. The vampire. And so, the human within us fights back the only way it can. With words, with influential thoughts. It is instinctual, of the most basic kind, to fight for self-preservation. And that is what the human is doing, fighting for survival.

"Edward's belief that vampires are soulless, are words expressed like a truly religious human. Without a soul, how can a man get into heaven? By propagating that belief, the human can defeat the vampire; by threatening it with the thought of eternity in hell. The human has preserved itself by overpowering the vampire's desire for human blood."

"Yes, but that can only be true if you believe we still have some humanity left."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "I know you cannot remember your personality as a human, but I imagine it wouldn't have changed all too much. Carlisle, Edward, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett have all retained their personalities from their human life. If that does not prove of the continued presence of the human part of us, then I cannot think what would. If the venom was able to completely destroy everything human about us, then we would have become completely different beings. Carlisle would not have been able to prevent himself from feeding, because as a vampire that is what we do. But his thoughts of vampires were brought forth into this life, and his disgust of vampires was what prevented him from killing any humans."

Alice frowned, "Your examples all focus on my family. A group of 'vegetarians'. But what about yourself? Were you, as a human, not against killing your fellow man?"

I leaned back against the headboard.

"I accepted what I had become some time ago. But yes, for centuries I hated myself and what I had become. I hated that I was forced into killing humans to survive."

Alice sat up completely, facing me with a serious expression, "so what changed it? What changed that made you stop feeling so guilty for killing humans?"

I looked at her solemnly.

"I never stopped feeling guilty. I merely accepted what I had become. Accepted it and moved on."

"So when you kill humans, even now, you still feel guilty for it?"

My eyes avoided her as I fought the reactions my body wanted to give to her words.

I found whenever anyone, Alice especially, delved to deep into my persona, my psyche, I felt the urge to hide. I felt the need to raise my shield and hide from her probing.

"It had gotten to the point that I was able to ignore the guilt. But now, with all this discussion, and your persistence in getting me to join you in your hunts, I find the age old guilt returning."

"So why do you fight it? Why do you continue doing this when we can survive on animals?" She was leaning forwards, excitement lifting her voice and her eyes were wide.

Gritting my teeth I spoke frostily, "Because I am not human, so I should not feel guilt. Humans do not feel guilty for killing their food, so why should I? The only reason for my anguish is because I once was human."

She frowned, obviously perplexed by my words.

"I don't understand, Bella. Don't you want to hold onto your humanity?"

"No!" I cried in frustration, "I do not want to hold onto something I am no longer. I do not want to feel guilt for doing something that is only natural! I _am_ not human. So why would I want to hold onto my humanity?"

"You may not be human, but you still think and feel and look human!" Alice cried back, she was leaning forward, as was I, and our breath intermingled in the small space between us.

Drawing back I sighed, "I know all that, Alice. And that is the problem. I _look_ human, I _think_ like a human, and I still _feel_ the emotions of a human. But I am not human anymore. I am not, and that is where all the confusion and guilt stems from. I am not what I once was, and moving forwards from that is something I have been trying to do for 3000 years." My eyes met hers again, "I cannot move past what happened in the last hour of my life, and therein lays my problem."

Her entire manner changed then. Her eyes softened and her lips tipped down in sympathy.

"Oh, Bella." She sighed and wrapped her arms around me.

"Why would I want to try to keep a part of me that was so easily defeated?" I whispered into the night and her arms tightened around, as though she were trying to protect me.

But she couldn't protect me from the demons of my past.

* * *

**(1) In the Bahá'í religion, in the teachings of love, that is how love is believed to work. But it's also a common enough belief in most religions I'm fairly certain. That was just a specific one that mentioned it specifically. As to love another human is to identify the beauty of God in their soul.**

**(2) William James is some old scientist who experimented with emotions and such, as scientists do. I directly quoted his explanation of emotions they worked well for what Bella wanted to say**.


	19. Chapter 19

**Right, I think I'll start of with a massive apology for the ridiculous wait this update had. I don't even think I begin to excuse the patheticness on my part. Life was heptically busy, and that's not even an excuse! Or rather, it's an excuse but a overused, and abused one that shouldn't be accepted.**

**But, yes, I'm not dead. I am alive and hiding behind a rock to avoid any stones cast my way... if I actually have any readers left xP it would serve me right that everyone just abandoned hope for an update after, what? 4 or 5 months?**

**But, yes, here's chapter 19, and it's quality is probably shot because of the length of time it took to actually get it written! Writer's block is just a horrible, mean thing and I just couldn't find the motivation to actually attempt breaking through the block! But, I did and this is the result... don't judge me too harshly... I have feelings :P**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Bella," a voice whispered in my ear.

"Bella," it called again as I obstinately ignored it.

"Come on, Bella, I know you're not really reading." A small giggle followed the words and I turned the page of the novel in reply.

The muscles in my neck suddenly tightened in reaction to a breeze in and around my ear, tickling my sensitive skin.

Another small chuckle was heard before a light contact was made on the opposing side of my neck.

The brushing contact caused a second, stronger tightening and my shoulders hunched to protect the ticklish area/s.

"Mmm, I never knew you were so ticklish, Bella." The wind-chime voice whispered and another trail was made along my neck.

A soft crinkle of a page turned.

Another soft giggle, "So where else are you ticklish?" That persistent voice asked and again went unanswered.

Feather strokes along my sides caused me to squirm.

Slightly more pressure in the same motion caused me to wriggle.

More pressure with multiple fingers applied resulted in a short burst of uncontrolled laughter.

"Ah ha!" The voice cried in triumph before the fingers returned in a lengthier assault.

Unable to control myself any longer I squirmed and wriggled, a higher peal laughter was ripped from me as I was forced to drop the book and seek escape.

I fell to the side on the couch and the petite body of Alice Cullen fell onto me, her fingers undisturbed as she relentlessly assaulted my sides.

My laughter was uncontained and I was thankful for the lack of need for oxygen, sure I'd have become light-headed and blue otherwise.

"Alice!" I cried, attempting an indignant tone but failing as it was voiced in a high-pitched squeal.

She grinned mercilessly, her white teeth flashing in the soft light of late afternoon.

"See? I knew you weren't actually reading."

Alice was straddling my waist, her knees either side as she leant over me, her hands continuing their torturous assault on my ribs.

As hard as I tried to glare at her, the sensation of being tickled forced my lips into what could only be described as a grinning grimace. I more than likely resembled someone in intense pain.

"Please, mercy!" I begged and her grin turned evil.

"On one condition," she offered and I cried for anything.

"Attend the Prom with me." She whispered and jabbed the area between my ribs and pelvic bone.

"What?" I cried in between gasping breaths.

"Be my date to the Prom." She repeated and jabbed me again.

"Why?" As tortured as I was, I couldn't resist being difficult.

"Because, it's traditional for one to attend such a function with the object of one's desire. And, Bella," Her tone dropped to a low, seductive murmur, "I do so desire you."

"This has to be the worst Prom invitation I've ever witnessed. You do realise, Alice, that torturing into submission to date them isn't the most romantic thing to do?" A new voice was added to the room and Alice paused in her assault long enough for us both to turn towards Rosalie, who was leaning against the doorframe.

Alice grinned widely, "But it's certainly the most original."

Using her momentary distraction, I bucked my hips and twisted; reversing our positions so she was pinned beneath me.

"Hey!" She cried indignantly and I smirked, "Uncool, Bella."

I grinned and grabbed her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head while picking up my discarded book.

"Now, where was I?"

"You're not..." Alice's eyes were wide as she trailed off, realising I was fully intent on carrying on reading with her pinned beneath me.

"Get off me, Bella!" Alice's hips bucked, it did little to jostle me and I flipped the page.

"See now, I've always imagined catching you two rolling round on the floor, but it always involved fewer clothes." A deeper, disappointed voice spoke and I paused to turn and see Emmett be slapped over the back of his head before he wrapped his arms around Rosalie's waist.

"What?" He complained to Rosalie, "What's the point in having a lesbian sister if I don't get to see a little somethin'-something?"

"Emmett, don't be crass!" Esme chastised him as she entered and took one look at my position before frowning disapprovingly, "What are you two doing?"

I held my book up, "Reading."

Her eyebrows rose in disbelief as Emmett chuckled and Rosalie smirked, "On top of Alice?"

I smiled like nothing was out of the ordinary, "Obviously."

Esme looked at Alice who squirmed, "Do you all need to be here to see my humiliation?" She whined and Esme was obviously fighting a smile.

"You never answered Alice, Bella." Rosalie reminded me and I glanced at her in surprise, and then back to Alice who was now watching me expectantly.

"You were serious?" I asked in mild surprise and by her look I knew she was questioning my sanity. Shrugging I turned another page; "I don't know how to dance."

Rosalie snorted in time with Alice before Alice did a double-take, "You're serious?"

Finally conceding that I wasn't going to able to get back into my book I placed it beside us and shifted my weight, still holding my mate down.

"While I have observed enough dances over the years, I haven't ever really attempted it myself. Having no partner in which to do as much."

A wide grin appeared on Alice's face, "Well, we'd best remedy that straight away. Get up."

My eyebrows rose at her command and I applied a little more pressure to her wrists, "I don't think you are in any position to be making demands."

She scoffed and wriggled.

"Come on, Bella. Let me up." She whined and squirmed. "_Please?"_

I grinned, "I'm more than comfortable up here."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "You realise you're going to have to release me eventually? And I will get you back."

Shrugging as I used my free hand to brush my hair from my eyes, I replied, "You have no pressing needs, and I can stay like this forever."

"But we have school on Monday!"

My grin widened, "Exactly. And today is Saturday. You have nothing urgent to do from now until then."

"Didn't you say earlier, Alice, that there is going to be a storm tonight?" Rosalie interrupted and Emmett immediately exclaimed, "Really? Oh, we are so playing tonight, Bella."

It was Alice's turn to grin slyly at my confusion, "See, I _do_ have something to do. Or rather _we_ have something to do tonight."

Failing to see the point I raised a questioning eyebrow.

"We generally play baseball during storms." Esme answered me and I found that intriguing.

"Baseball?" I said aloud, "Perhaps you are correct then, Alice, it appears we do have something to do tonight."

"But not before I teach you to dance! So get off me."

I smiled and finally pushed myself off of her. I offered her a hand that she graciously took and didn't release once she was upright.

Her honey-gold eyes stared into my eyes, as mine stared into hers.

"What style are you going to start with, Alice?" Rosalie asked as she stepped towards the stereo.

Her lips pursed in thought before she smiled widely.

"I'm thinking a 'dance through the ages' like we did with the movies. Starting with some of the real classics."

My eyebrows lifted, "I think our concepts of 'classic' are slightly differing."

She rolled her eyes.

"How long are you going to be rubbing in our faces that we are mere children in comparison to your staggeringly old age?"

I grinned, "For as long as I so please."

She scoffed, "Well, while you may hold your vast age and incredible historic knowledge over us, at least our speech is modern...ish"

I frowned, "Is my speech not adequate?"

Emmett laughed aloud at that.

"Bella, seriously, the only thing modern about you is your name. And even then, that's only because you've shortened it to 'Bella'. I rarely hear any teenager of this era say 'adequate' or speak with as little conjunctions as you do. Hell, most human teenager's these days don't even speak actual English words."

"I've got to agree with Emmett, Bella. You're manner of speech was one hint I had that you weren't what you appeared." Rosalie added and I stuck my lower lip out.

"Well, that stinks." I huffed and all three Cullen children look at me in mild surprise before laughing.

"There is hope for you yet, and like us, I'm sure you'll pick up the latest lingo at school. It is after all how we've come to be so... _adequate._" Alice both teased and reassured me.

I huffed again but didn't respond, knowing she was correct.

My speech was my most telling trait that I was not as I appeared, and in order to perfect it, I did need to remain in some contact with humans of this era.

That had really been the deciding factor for my returning to Fork's High School.

Alice had been surprised, to say the least, that I hadn't actually planned on returning to the human education facility.

"_What do you mean you're not coming back?" She exclaimed in horror. As though my lack of interest in human education was a grave and insulting misstep._

"_Exactly that, Alice. Why do I need to continue with this charade, when the only reason I had begun was because I had realised there were vampires in this town. Vampires that would have immediately sensed the arrival of a new human, and investigated only to ask why the new human wasn't attending the local high school?"_

"_Oh, don't give me that, Bella. You started at Forks to avoid Aro's notice should he ever travel here. It was only our presence that caused you to create a more convincing pretence." Alice scoffed at my words and I growled, annoyed that she'd seen through that so easily._

"_Yes, well, regardless I am not returning to that... _prison_ for human delinquents and imbeciles." I crossed my arms and glared at her._

_She simply raised an eyebrow, "That's hardly fair to call a group of uneducated humans minor offenders and unintelligent. Wasn't it you who told me off the other day for laughing at your lack of knowledge? How can you stand here and insult a human's intelligence, when they haven't actually had the opportunity to learn these facts you're degrading them for not knowing? That's rather hypocritical and I'm surprised at this show of immaturity, from an _ancient."

_I growled under my breath in annoyance. Her words were truthful and correct. I _was_ being hypocritical for insulting these children for not knowing what they hadn't learnt._

"_But I don't want to go to school." I complained and to my surprise Alice laughed heartily._

"_And that there, Bella dear, is the closest you have _ever_ sounded to a human teenager. You may not want to; you may not even legally have to. But you made a commitment and I expect you to see it through."_

_She stepped to me and rubbed her hands on my arms, from my elbows to my shoulders and I pouted. "And as adorable as that pout is, Bella, you'll soon find I'm not swayed by such things."_

_Her hands, on their return trip up my arms, curved over my shoulders and hooked behind my neck to begin drawing me down. I allowed it, and allowed my eyes to close in reaction to the initiation of a kiss._

_Once her silk soft lips left mine, I sighed._

"_But what am I to say in excuse to my unexpected, unexplained and extensive absence? And how would I pass this year to continue forward, surely I have missed too much to believably catch up with the others?"_

"_That's where Carlisle comes in. You see, you contracted a terrible case of Infectious Mononucleosis*, and subsequently as your girlfriend, I caught it too." She grinned here, "And before you ask, no one could visit us because Carlisle, being the anal doctor that he is, quarantined us. Preventing all visitors from, well, visiting."_

_I nodded, "But is it believable that I was infected with it for two months?"_

_Alice shrugged, "Generally humans suffer the symptoms for four to six weeks." She smirked at my raised brow, "And I'm aware you were gone for two months, so maybe you could have an unexpected death in your family?"_

_I shook my head, "I'm already an orphan, and if another family member 'died' why wasn't I living with them to begin with?"_

_Alice pursed her lips in thought and I waited patiently for her to conduct a reliable excuse for my absence._

"_Perhaps a friend had an accident?" She ventured._

_It was possible. "But why didn't I alert the school at the time of the accident?"_

_She grinned, "Because you're a teenager who had 'more important' things to worry about than remembering to tell the school you needed a few days off. Or weeks in this case." She added, "And I'm sure Carlisle can fabricate some documents on this 'friend' or even pull some legitimate papers from another hospital and you can say that they were your friend?"_

"_It could work, I suppose, but seems like a lot of effort for something I honestly don't care about."_

_Alice grinned, "Well, if you're not going to school, that'll be six hours a day, five days a week we'll be separated for."_

_I snorted, "I made it almost three millenniums without you Alice, I think I can handle thirty hours a week. Or I could simply be invisible to the others, and tease you all day."_

_Alice smirked, "But you'd still be going to school anyway, so it would kind of defeat the purpose."_

"_Stop ruining my fun!" I whined and pouted and it only resulted in her laughing._

"Where did you go?" Alice's voice broke my reverie and I looked down at her.

She had one raised hand for me to take, and as I did so, her other curved around my waist.

"Into my thoughts." I answered and she rolled her eyes.

"I had worked that one out on my own, thank you. What were your thoughts about?"

I grinned cheekily, "This and that."

Her eyes made another loop before a single eyebrow raised.

"You, of course." I finally answered and leant down to peck her nose affectionately.

"They had better be good thoughts then."

"The best."

"As sickly sweet as you two are, I hope you don't plan on trying to lead Bella, Alice. You're a head shorter, and it looks ridiculous." Rosalie interrupted and Alice poked her tongue out.

"Before one can lead, one must follow." My adorable mate retorted hotly and Emmett laughed.

"That doesn't stop you looking idiotic."

Alice grumbled and stepped away from me, glaring at Emmett her hands went to her hips.

"Well, how else am I going to teach her to dance?"

Rosalie smirked and stepped forwards, offering me her hand.

"If you want her to learn to follow first, then I can do that."

No one was more surprised by the offer than I. Even though we had established an easier relationship after our conversation, Rosalie had never been overt in her affection. And this gesture was affectionate in the very definition of the word.

"Esme, we will start with a simple classic Waltz." The statuesque blonde both requested and commanded.

I turned to see Esme nod and insert a CD into the player.

A soft tune began and Rosalie placed one hand on my hip, instructing me to place left hand on her shoulder while holding my right hand in her left.

"While this is a more 'traditional' pose brought in by more modern customs, the Waltz originally had the dancers holding each other so close their faces touched."

I smiled, "I think I'll save that for when I lead Alice."

"And so you should." Alice commented from where she stood with Emmett and Esme.

We all four laughed as Rosalie began.

Her instructions were sound, and I was pleased to discover I rather enjoyed it. Once I had the basic rules determined.

As the tune picked up she swept me round the lounge room floor. I laughed as she spun.

"Leading is mostly all about hand gestures. A slight tip will tell you I'm turning, and in what direction."

She demonstrated as such and I followed fluidly.

"I somehow imagine this would be far more difficult if it weren't for my reflexes." I commented and Rosalie smiled.

"When I was a human, I had more men stepping on my toes than hats tipped." I laughed at that, "I'm sure that is an exaggeration."

I heard a huff of air behind me before Alice complained, "And here I was thinking _I _would be the one to teach Bella."

Sensing actual disgruntlement in my mate's tone I slowed and smiled in thanks to Rosalie.

"Thank you, Rosalie. It was a pleasure but I have another lady wanting a dance."

She nodded and released me, before stepping into her large mates embrace.

I approached Alice and offered my hand, bowing slightly.

"Would you join me in a dance?" She grinned and placed her petite hand in my own.

"I'd be honoured, My Lady."

Her other hand rested upon my shoulder as my free hand lightly gripped her waist.

Esme changed the song and I began with a simple stepping motion, adjusting to leading.

We fell into an easy rhythm and I turned into a fast spin. Alice erupted into pleased giggles.

"See? Dancing isn't so bad."

I grinned down at her, "I don't recall ever saying it was 'bad'. Just that I'd not danced before."

She laughed and spun with me.

* * *

The jeep slowed to a stop and the engine was cut off. We were in a subtle clearing, after having travelled along a bumpy, overgrown and obviously underused path for the past 20 minutes.

I hopped out of Emmett's tall jeep and offered Alice my hand.

There was just something so right about the feel of her smaller hand in mine and as her feet touched the ground I began caressing the back of her hand with my thumb.

She smiled softly at me and leaned towards me, brushing her shoulder against my biceps.

"So, why exactly did we take the truck when it would have been faster to run?" I finally asked the question that I had wondered as soon as Alice had opened the door for me earlier.

It wasn't as though between eight vampires we couldn't have been able to carry a bat and a ball.

Alice smiled, "Because Emmett loves driving his jeep and travelling in a vehicle makes us feel a little more human."

That was something I didn't think I'd ever truly understand about Alice and her coven. I just couldn't understand their attachment to their 'humanity'.

It was in everything they did; the way they related to one another (as a family), their attendance at school to stay in a human community for longer.

Even the house they lived in.

Esme had a working kitchen that was never used. They had four bathrooms with working toilets.

The shower and bath I could understand, because even though vampires did not sweat, dirt still clung to our skin and hair. But a fully operation toilet? Never mind four of them.

Perhaps if the Cullen's had purchased the house from a previous human owner it would make sense, but Esme had designed it herself.

It wasn't as though they ever had human visitor's... myself not included.

I never vocalised my thoughts, knowing they would only serve to upset my mate. She didn't remember her life as a human, and consequently felt inadequate to the rest of her 'family'. Even Carlisle, as dim as his memories had become, still remembered.

"Plus, it does make carrying spare bats and balls a lot easier. Even though we are perfectly capable of carrying all that gear over, it is inconvenient." She continued, breaking through my thoughts.

I nodded, knowing what she said was true enough, and it wasn't as though the trip had been uncomfortable. Slow perhaps but holding Alice in the backseat more than equalised that sacrifice. I couldn't have been so close to her had we run.

We approached Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Edward who had all run. Carlisle had arrived home early from work, having been called by Esme to tell him there would be a storm and we would be playing baseball.

I had danced for hours with Alice, simply enjoying the closeness the activity wrought. That was one thing I could appreciate about humans, they invented the most curious forms of entertainment, which rewarded in some pleasurable benefits.

Carlisle assigned us into two teams. Placing me with Rosalie, Esme and Jasper with Alice, Emmett, Edward and himself pitching first.

Perhaps it would have been a little unbalanced to have the fastest and the strongest on the same team, but my own superior speed and strength compensated nicely.

As well as the fact that my shield blocked Jasper, Alice and Edward's ability.

Jasper stood up to bat first as Alice was pitching and I admired her form. The baseball outfit she wore hugged in all the right places and I felt a curious stirring in my lower abdomen.

Carlisle stood a good distance behind Jasper, acting as the catcher, with Emmett and Edward in the field.

The first crack of thunder began in synchronisation with the echo of impact caused by a high velocity ball hitting a higher velocity bat.

As the ball flew through the air, I felt a foreign emotion and sensation.

Excitement and something else caused my senses to pick up and my fingers twitch. A phantom tightening in my stomach, and my eyes darted about sporadically. It was almost electric, and it wasn't caused by the current thunder storm.

Jasper made it to third base and Esme took up the bat. She also stopped on third to prevent Edward tagging her out.

I stood up to bat, feeling that strange and foreign electrical current-like sensation increase in intensity and rush through my body.

And as distracting as having Alice as pitcher was, I managed to keep my eye on the ball.

I swung the bat with all my strength and was caught by surprise – along with everyone else – as the bat literally snapped away from my hands. Splinters flew and I was left with a short stump that I looked at dumbly before glancing up at Alice.

My expression must have been something because Alice burst into fits of laughter, clutching her stomach and bending over.

Her laughter was contagious as the rest succumbed to bouts of near-hysterical laughter. Eventually I recovered from my shock and laughed as well.

"Oh God, Bella your face!" Emmett hollered out in-between his bellows.

Alice was on her knees now, clutching at her stomach even though I knew it was mostly theatrics.

"That was priceless!" Emmett was still struggling to talk and I began to get the distinct impression I had been set up.

"What did you do, Emmett?" I spat out, trying, and failing, to sound put out.

"Nothing, I swear!"

I tried to growl threateningly, but Alice's laughter was affecting me too much and it came out as more of a strangled whine.

"Ok," Emmett gasped, "Ok, I actually didn't do anything and," he snorted, "That may have been the problem." He sniggered again, "I figured you'd go all out, and knew that a wooden bat wouldn't be able to handle it. So I neglected to mention you would probably need an aluminium one." He chuckled again and I sniggered, appreciating his unique kind of revenge after my continued defeats of him in our sparring.

"So if ya'll are done with laughing at my expense, perhaps you could -" I stopped mid-sentence as something hit my senses.

My shield raised and I rushed next to Alice, hissing in her ear.

"There are three vampires coming this way."

She jumped and spun, "Where?"

The others were all confused by my sudden disappearance and Emmett called after me.

"Bella?"

"There are some vampires coming..." Alice explained and I saw the moment they all heard their approach.

The Cullen's immediately banded together, standing around and in front of Alice. I moved off to the side silently to gain an advantage. I couldn't risk the Cullen's crowding me if this turned hostile, even though every instinct was urging I guard Alice.

Three blonde females stepped into the opening and I crouched in preparation, but was surprised when Alice called out in excitement.

"Tanya!" She cried, rushing towards the middle female and grabbing her in a tight hug.

"Kate and Irina, what are you doing here?" She grabbed the other two in hugs as she gushed in delight.

The other Cullen's gathered around, greeting these strangers, who, I now noticed, all had golden eyes.

"What's this, Alice; you seem surprised by our appearance?" 'Tanya' spoke, her voice a deep, rich musical tone.

Alice grinned shyly, "That's because I am."

All three blonde women raised their eyebrows and exchanged pointed looks.

"But you're never surprised..." the one with pale blonde hair spoke and drifted off. "What's going on?"

Alice turned to me, or rather in the direction she thought I was... which was off by several meters to the right.

"Bella? It's okay, they're friends."

Tanya's gaze shot to Edward, "You mean Bella that human you were after?"

He gave a crooked smile, "Bella was her name, yes, but as it turned out, she wasn't so human after all."

Sighing, I realised I couldn't stay hidden without being rude to these apparent 'friends' and dropped my shield. The three newcomers all jumped in fright at my abrupt appearance.

Alice danced over to me and wrapped a hand around my waist, "Tanya, Kate, Irina. This is my Bella. Bella, meet the Denali sisters."

I approached them cautiously, as they did me.

"Hello, Bella. I'm Tanya." The leader stepped forwards and offered me her hand. I took it slowly and was taken by surprised by the strength she put behind her grip. I hadn't experienced this much strength before and curiosity got the better of me as I squeezed, wanting to know just how strong, and subsequently, how old this particular vampire was.

It became a subtle battle of strength and it wasn't until I was applying more than half my strength that she grinned and loosened her grip.

In displaying my ability to crush her hand, I had just revealed to her I was older and I knew her first question would be just how old I was.

The pale blonde vampire offered me her hand next and I vaguely wondered what she would try. I figured the handshakes were used as more than just a physical show of greeting.

"I'm Kate, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

I nodded, "Likewise." And was surprised when I felt pressure on my shield. It wasn't anything like Edward's mental readings, which was almost subtle in the way it brushed up against my shield. No, this was more like an assault, a direct pressure at a single point.

Kate's surprise was obvious when I failed to react to whatever she had just done, but she didn't comment.

The last blonde, one of a rather silver colour held her hand out.

"Irina." And didn't do anything more than squeeze my hand momentarily.

I stepped back towards Alice and studied the three.

"So what did you learn?" I asked them and Kate and Tanya both gained equally sheepish expressions.

"That you're obviously older than I." Tanya answered first and I nodded, having known she would figure that out.

"And immune to my gift, so I can only surmise you must be immune to the other gifted vampires here." Kate added.

"But more than immune, I'd say you almost block the abilities entirely, considering Alice hadn't known of our visiting." Irina finished and I nodded.

"Wait, how'd you know she's older than you are, Tanya?" Emmett interrupted before I could pass comment on Irina's words and Tanya gave him a sly smile.

"The strength of her handshake." Her explanation didn't seem to satisfy Emmett, but she turned to me, "So how old are you then?"

"Nearly 3000."

All three sister's eyebrows rose in synchronisation.

"But the Volturi are the only vampires we know that are of that age. Or rather, even remotely close to that age." Irina breathed in disbelief and I couldn't help the growl that escaped me.

Tanya looked at me sharply. "I'm taking by that reaction; you've had dealings with the Volturi." Her words suggested she was asking a question, but her tone told me she was stating a fact.

I nodded but didn't elaborate and she seemed to respect my desire to not speak on it.

Tanya smiled widely at Alice, "So you've finally found someone then?"

The smile that appeared on Alice's face then was incredible, and I felt rather smug I was the reason for it.

"Yes, Tanya I have."

"That's wonderful news."

Alice's grin grew and she wrapped both arms around my waist, tucking herself into my side, forcing my right arm over her shoulder to hold her 'comfortably'. And by comfortable, I mean without a feeling of awkward positioning.

Kate was still watching me, watching how I held Alice, how I watched her coven.

I had the distinct impression that while Tanya was the leader, Kate was the opponent to be wary of.

"So what is your power, Kate?" I asked.

From the effect it had upon my shield, the fact I could feel the pressure as it tried to break through, I deduced it was an assault-type ability.

"I can create an electrical current across my skin." She replied and I noted Alice's eyes shooting back and forth between Kate and myself.

"Kate, tell me you didn't?" Alice asked and Kate shrugged. Alice's outrage became obvious as she removed her arms from me and stepped towards the blonde.

"And if she hadn't had the ability to block you?"

"She'd have received a minor shock I'm sure." Kate replied indifferently and I restrained Alice before her temper got away on her.

"You don't just go around shocking everyone you meet, Kate!" My mate cried, attempting to break from my grasp.

"It's of strategic value, Alice. I needed to know for sure what Bella's abilities were and I now know, and there's no harm done."

I interrupted Alice before this disagreement turned into a confrontation.

"Alice, Kate is correct. I am unharmed, and she now knows her power is useless on me." My tone hardened and I gave Kate a cold look. She shrugged again but raised her hands in surrender.

"Warning acknowledged, Bella. I won't try anything else."

I nodded and pulled Alice back to my side where she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"If I'm not mistaken, you were in the middle of a baseball game." Tanya spoke, breaking the silence that had fallen, "Do you have room for three more?"

Emmett grinned, "Do we ever? Bella was just about to break another bat."

I turned back towards the batter's plate and whacked Emmett over the back of the head.

"Hey!" He cried indignantly.

I grinned and picked up the bat in preparation, knowing the aluminium would hold up against my strength, even though I would be sure not to put as much power into it as I had last time.

* * *

***Infectious Mononucleosis is most commonly referred to as 'Mono', Glandular Fever or Kissing Disease, and is a orally transmitted nasty, highly infectious disease. Most commonly occurs in teenage years, when boys and girls are doing a lot of kissing :P You'll get a mean fever, sore throat and extreme tiredness.**


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